A Shot Across the Bow
by livexlovexlose
Summary: He never knew these emotions; or, better yet, he didn't know he could possess them. Elena loses her memory and Damon gets a view of what it would be like if Stefan were never in the picture. Poss M for later chapters
1. Perfectly Fine

Damon/Elena Fan Fiction

"A Shot across the Bow"—A Little fan fiction to express my Delena Love! I'm routing for Damon and Elena and though I love Stefan, he is uncontrollable. I mean, Damon has his flaws as well (like his impulsive character, his clinginess, his need for attention), but he hasn't given up on her. 3/17/12

PLEASE READ! This is a scene I made up to come somewhere after Caroline's dad was murdered and before Esther met Bonnie and Abigail in attempt to kill her children. This does not take in account the events from the actual series! Thanks for reading AND reviewing! Maybe? Yes?

Dedicated to Ian Somerhalder—my soon to be husband (I wish!) and Greenbelt—for helping me discover feelings I didn't know I could possess.

~Here's the Story!~

Damon took a deep breath and let it out silently. The room was filled with boring nonsense that would have driven him crazy in a matter of seconds. The Founder's Council meetings were always such a hassle and they never really got anything done. Mayor Lockwood kept arguing with Sheriff Forbes about the murders and literally all Damon had to occupy him was a metal flask in the pocket of his black leather jacket he was tempted to pull out but couldn't move his tired, lazy body enough to actually do it. He rested his head on his hand, his elbow on the metal surface of a filing cabinet. But his life was saved when an angry mayor growled, "Meeting adjourned."

Damon quickly made his way back to the boarding house, but couldn't help himself in making a detour to Elena's house.

Her head was killing her with the millions of problems she had on her plate as she chopped up yet another carrot for whatever she decided on making. Elena decided that she couldn't be trusted with a knife in her state of distress and put it down, sighing and brushing the excess hair from her face. She turned to the sink behind her and splashed her face with water, believing it would calm her down but only succeeding in making her face and shirt wet.

She went upstairs to her bedroom to change her shirt and relax. She peeled of the wet tee, which felt like an extra, unnecessary layer of skin against that of her own and used the white hand towel on her messy bed to wipe off the excess water.

She got a cami from her dresser and before she could put it on, caught herself staring at the photos on her mirror—the one of her and Stefan, and under that the one of Damon holding her as they danced at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. She sighed. Then she noticed the window open and a black leather jacket on a dark figure behind her. She gasped and turned around, covering her bare flesh with the undershirt she now wished she had put o earlier.

"Damon, you pervert! What are you _doing_?"

"Hmm." He thought about his answer for a while before saying, "Enjoying the view."

"Oh, my god!" Elena used one hand (the other still shielding herself) to smack his arm. "Get out, Damon! Get _out!_"

"Fine, fine!" he replied as he walked out the door and into the hallway. Elena turned back to the mirror, mistakenly dropping her hands, and sighed. The door opened again and Damon commented, "By the way, nice bra."

"_Damon!"_

Elena slipped the cami on and opened the door to see Damon leaning against the wall, with his eyes staring at her and his lips smirking—both seductively. "Stop pulling stunts live _this_," she said.

"Why? You're fair game now, aren't you?" He teased. Damon couldn't admit to it voluntarily—besides, she knew how he felt—but he loved her. He never knew these emotions; or, better yet, he didn't know he could possess them. Stefan was always the passionate one, even though he doesn't care anymore. But Damon always cared, he only pretends not too. They see him as this monster—and he knew he used to deserve it. Now, because of some change derived from his feelings for Elena, he can't do things like he used to and could now only do things almost as similar and bad when she would push him away. Basically, he only did this stuff out of jealousy and anger and hatred now, not because he could and didn't care about the consequences. That was before.

Elena stared at him with these playful eyes. She was trying to decode his thoughts, but couldn't.

Damon couldn't help himself and slowly leaned forward. Elena knew he was about to kiss her and she knew a part of her wanted to lean in and meet him half way. But, still, she pushed him away and shook her head. "Damon, I can't. It's not"—

"Right?" Damon finished. "It's right for me, Elena. And I know you feel it too."

Her eyes were pained as she stared at him. "Damon," she sighed.

He ignored her, of course, and leaned in again. This time, that part of Elena gave in and she pressed her lips against Damon's. She wrapped her arms around his neck, weaved her hands through his soft, black hair, as he cradled her waist. She was begging, pleading for more, and the more she begged and pleaded, the more he gave her. Seconds later, Elena realized what was happening and she broke away, with horror on her face.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me." She backed away, hitting the side of her bed in her path.

Damon smirked. "I happened."

"I kissed Damon today," Elena confessed to her two best friends as they lay in her bed in their pajamas. "On lighter news, however, I like how we're having a girls' night as if we're normal—like we used to."

"Hold on. You kissed Damon?" Caroline said. "Details, please?" she begged.

"I'd rather not."

"So the Salvatore boys cast their spell yet again," Bonnie commented. They all laughed at her remark. _She would know, _Elena thought.

"I didn't mean for it to happen, and a part of me wishes it never did. I…I don't know how I feel or what to think." Elena smashed her face against a pillow and kicked her feet on the floor and let out a loud scream.

"You can be such a drama queen," Caroline complained. "I say we spend today not thinking about the supernatural and dramatic and just have some fun!"

"Works for me," Bonnie replied.

Elena stared in thin air for a moment as they awaited her reply. She took a deep breath and sighed it out. "Why not?"

But somehow through the night, their conversation took a turn that sent their plan of a drama-free night into a plane (which was sent to a rocket that shot up to the moon, only to be attained through flying. Now if only she were superman…). Elena confessed to what happened and Caroline begged her for more detail, which she didn't really have. The two—Bonnie and Caroline—freaked out when she remembered to mention her state of undress.

This led her to her ultimate question—the one that rang in her ears as she tried (and failed) to fall asleep—who would she choose?

[The Next morning—Salvatore Boarding House]

Damon got out of his cold shower—not even taking the time to remember clothes as he walked with suds all over him to his bedroom. He got a towel from his closet and wiped the soap from his bare, cold skin and dried his pitch-black hair. He slipped on a pair of jeans, a shirt that did crazy justice on his muscles, and his favorite faux leather jacket (which he never understood. He could kill humans, but couldn't stand to by a real leather jacket. He may never know…).

There was a knock at his door; someone had caught him humming. "What's got you in such a good mood?" Stefan said, standing in the open doorway, leaning against the wooden hinge.

Damon couldn't help but smile to himself—but of course, his reputation was at stake and he hid it from his little brother. "Can't a guy just"—

"No, a guy can't; not when that guy is you, Damon."

"I guess you're right," Damon admitted. "And I guess you'll never know." Damon showed off his signature smirk as he brushed shoulders with his brother, leaving a smiling Stefan stuck at the door while he was already out of the house.

There was something about the moment—something in Damon made him absolutely more cocky than usual (something that was pretty dangerous). He walked all the way to the Mystic Grill and sat at the bar for a moment, resting his elbows on the counter as he surveyed the rest of the restaurant.

After one of her normal morning runs and a warm, relaxing bath, Elena joined her two friends, who were waiting patiently downstairs in the clothes they brought in plastic grocery bags. Bonnie drove them down to the Mystic Grill; they rode in silence. It must have been, maybe, eleven? Twelve? They don't know; but Elena and Bonnie's stomach growled slightly. Caroline wasn't in the mood right now, and did her best with the thermos in her purse.

As they peered inside, Bonnie was the first to notice the pitch black jacket sitting at the corner of the bar. She warned Elena, believing this would ruin their dram free weekend—that, as Elena reminded her, was only supposed to last a night, which they didn't even succeed. As they sat down, Elena kept looking back at the man, who was staring back at her…and smiling. Elena closed her eyes and looked away.

Damon kept staring at her, though, please with his intimidation.

"If it's too much for you, we can leave," Caroline said.

"Yeah," Bonnie agreed. "The leftovers in your fridge were delicious."

"Thanks, guys, but I'm fine," Elena lied. "Perfectly fine."

In a way, she was fine, just not in the way they wanted her to be.

~Next Chapter~

A/N: I Love Damon and Elena. I feel they really belong together. Sorry if you feel this doesn't reflect the views of Damon or Elena. This is my first ever Fan Fiction. Please REVIEW! Good or bad; I don't care!


	2. Shh, Shh

Yeah, she was fine, all except for the fact that Damon just kept staring at her. As much as Elena refused to look, she couldn't help but glance his way every so often. And when she did see his face—his perfect face—her lips start to curl off into this endless smile. Or it seemed to be endless. But as she looked down to once again deprive herself from this need to see him, Caroline punched her in the arm, wanting to obtain her attention. At the same time, however, she did not recall her vampire strength, so while getting her attention was her goal, she also succeeded in leaving bruises. Because of this, Elena grimaced.

"What the HELL was that for?" she screamed out.

"I was trying to get your attention. You just can't stop looking at lover boy over there," she replied /calmly.

"So you punched me because you wanted to tell me something?" Elena questioned skeptically.

"Pretty much, Caroline admitted.

Elena was Furious. Maybe it was just her monthly PMS, but not matter the reason, she was completely, indescribably furious.

Meanwhile, Damon stared at her from a distance. She was a pure beauty in his eyes, though the feelings he felt scared him. It wasn;t because of the darkness within him—there was no 'she deserves better than me' in this kind of emotion, though he knew it was true. But he was scared for the both of them; her memories of Stefan and his memories of Katherine. What if what they had— if they had anything at all—was nothing compared to the loves of their past? Then he realized his complete stupidity. Katherine was a monster—and that coming from Damon Salvatore, of all people.

A familiar acquaintance followed his stare and Damon realized he was not alone when the person said, "You should talk to her."

"Alaric Saltzman." Damon said. "When did you get here?"

"About five minutes ago." Ric brushed the specks of hair on his chin. "Anyway, you should go up to her and say something."

"No, its—" He looked for a way to finish but he couldn't.

"It's what, Damon? Admit it; you've been eye fucking Elena since she came in."

Damon sighed. For some awful reason that sickened his insides, he couldn't come up with some remark to redeem himself as the bad one agai. Maybe, he wondered, he just didn't want to be the bad one. He shook that thought out of his head.

Through the corner of his eye, he saw Elena slipping through the exit in anger and arrogance. He had the sudden urge to follow her, the sudden urge to follow his sudden urge. He did, quickly countering through the door in his vampire-like speed.

It was bright, but for some reason, he couldn't see her. He looked through the crowd of people when he sensed a shrill of danger, tingling under the chill of his skin. Then, he spotted Elena crossing the street in the direction of her place. She looked perfectly fine. Still, the feeling in his gut screamed trouble, and it barged into his eardrums without knocking. It was all too loud to ignore. He ran as fast as he could to Elena.

Elena knew that Damon would chase after her, in some way, doesn't he always? But she felt as if things were moving way too fast—not just with them, but with everything. Even her pace sped up, along with her heart beat and breaths per minute. It seemed that by the time Damon grabbed her hand and made her stop, she was so deep in thought that she screamed out scared. Once she realized who had grabbed her, she shuddered and scowled at herself. She hugged the rest of him as he still held her hand in pace. She was breathing heavily.

"Shh, shh" Damon's soothing voice said into her hair. He grabbed her tightly and at the same time, caressing her softly. He led her off the road and walked her home.

There was something in the way he held her; rested his arm around her back and pulled her in tightly. She couldn't place it, but it was as if he actually cared; well, of course he cared. He was one of the most caring people she knew, yet she won't admit it to him and he won't admit it to everyone else. It was as if he wanted her to know that he cared…that was the most confusing part of the walk home.

He sensed her difficulty and gave her a reassuring squeeze and Elena Felt good. But, just then, they were crossing the street—almost there to her house. Just as the tingling feeling in his stomach had mellowed out, it came back like a sudden punch that would forever bruise his skin. And it took him too long to see the truck driving straight for them.


	3. I Don't Know You

A/N: Hey, guys! I was so happy to go online and get those amazing reviews, even though there were only five. Still, they brightened up my day and inspired me to write more. Just so you know, it won't take that long for me to update these next few chapters. I have them already written and all I need to do is type them up. Btw, I'm writing them with a fountain pen; yes they're old fashioned but they have a lot of friction so you're pen seldom slips. I totally recommend them. If you calculate it, buying one fountain pen (mine plus an extra pack of 6 ink cartridges was about 20 bucks) that will last you years costs much less than the ball points that you lose and have to buy again.

Dedicated to my awesome best friend! She knows who she is. ;)

~Here's the Story~

For a moment, everything was black. But seconds passed and Damon Salvatore opened up his eyes. He had succeeded in not getting hit by the damn thing and bringing Elena to safety (aka the sidewalk0. He sat up and opened his arms back up. "Elena?" he said.

No response.

"Elena?"

Still nothing.

He panicked, kicking the door wide open and carrying her into her bedroom. He laid her down and nudged her shoulder on last time. When, again, nothing happened but soft yet shallow breaths he held his wrist to his mouth and pierced the skin. HE lifted Elena's head and fed her the dripping blood.

Color—besides the color blue—returned to her face and Damon sighed in relief. He felt no other choice but to sit there beside her.

And that's what he did. All. Night. Long.

Elena awoke in a haze, feeling a mix between drunk and tired. She struggled to find a connection to the scene, to what was happening, but could only remember her name and the thought of death that echoed through her shallow memory. And a face. A face either than her own was embedded behind the locked doors, yet she could only remember a vague description.

Dark hair, blue eyes—but it was so blurry, those eyes looked like blue jewels. Sapphires. She understood that she should know him, that he did something for her and she owed him. And she understood that he was snoring at the side of her bed. Realizing this made her yell in shock and jump up from her bed. "Ahh!"

Hearing this made him jump as well. He stared aty her and focused. Thed the expression on his face changed and instead of the surprised look on his face, those gorgeous sapphire eyes stared at her seductively and the ends of his raspberry colored lips curled.

Elena stares at him wide eyed. "Why are you here?" Her breaths were deeper than normal and she felt her heart beating maybe ten times faster in anticipation. "Who are you?"

* * *

><p>Damon stood still while he stared at her blankly and looked for the truth in her words, if there was any at all. A chill crawled up and down his spine. He thought to himself confused. He finally got the nerve to say something when Elena's eyes loosened their grip on him; less narrowed on his answer, less pressure for his reply.<p>

"Elena," he started. "It's me, Damon." He gave his signature smirk (though there was less tough guy and more scared wimp) in hope that she was, of course, pretending. She was probably still mad at him for making a move on her. Yup, that was it. The vampire blood would have healed her up, including her memory. He kept telling himself that this was all some crazy attempt to drive him away. But there was that feeling again at the center of his gut that was driving him crazy while at the same time it screamed out the truth that was missing from her voice. That's what the wimp inside him is scared of most.

Elena blinked. "Do I know you? Am I supposed to?"

"Come on, Elena, cut the crap. If you're trying to make me leave, its not working. I'm still here," Damon replied.

"I have no idea who you are. Please go, though. You're scaring me."

_She's one to talk_, he thought. He was pretty fucking scared. Of course, he was Damon Salvatore and he didn't feel like showing it, so he kept the thought to himself.

"I'm serious, Elena, stop fooling around."

"And I'm serious too 'Damon'," she put air quotes around his name, "I honestly don't know who you are and until I can remember where I am and how I got here, I must ask you to get out."

"But, Elena. It's me, Damon." He reached across the bed and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him straight in the eye. "Tell me. Look at me and tell me that you don't know who I am."

And there it was; Damon's fear coming true. There she was and there was his answer, looking at him in the eye, straight faced, and practically screaming at him. "I do not know who you are.

Damon only thought one thing after that. Uh, oh.


	4. Strong Arms

A/N: Like I said last chapter, it won't take long for me to update and check daily for a new chapter. Most likely, there will be one. I try to keep my writing constant. I do not update after ten pm or before three o'clock unless it's a weekend.

And for those of you who were surprised, yes it is my first fan fiction but it is not my first story. I have written a full pledged, 213 page book—if you're wondering about it, it is not published. And I really appreciate all the good reviews I've gotten (ie: 5).

Oh, yeah. Sorry if my chapters are short. As I'm looking back at them, I'm realizing that they are really short. I'll try to fix that in my later chapters.

~Here's the story~

This guy was definitely crazy, Elena thought to herself, though she knew that wasn't true and this guy—Damon—definitely meant something to her at some point in her life. If only she could remember, but she couldn't, and it was practically killing her, eating her from the inside out. But she was sure he was an ally, not an enemy, and he would play a big part in the regaining of her memory. He was, of course, the only other thing she remembers besides her name, miraculously. The burning passion of his eyes—those eyes which shine brighter than the sun's reflection on the blue of the sapphires that were his eyes. So blue and perfect and piercing. They could have gone passed every wall she keeps rock hard and standing tall for who knows why. But right now, she didn't know him, even though she so badly wanted to. She didn't. And she wasn't sure how to play the next scene out.

"So you're not fucking with me?" Damon asked quizzically.

Elena, not knowing what to do, did nothing but nod, keeping her mouth shut to escape temptation..

"But that's impossible," Damon exclaimed. "This is fucking IMPOSSIBLE." There was this rage in his voice that made Elena shudder in familiarity, though she recognized none of it, unfortunately. In complete fury, Damon punched the wall, and Elena stared at the whole that was left to stain.

Damon turned to her then, grabbed her gently—surprisingly—by the shoulder, and let his eyes—again, his perfect blue eyes—become master over hers, which were staring back at his, falling prey. Then, in a ten times calmer voice, he asked her, "Do you know who you are?"

"Elena Gilbert."

He stared at her. He just kept on staring and he seemed to have no other motive for staring into her eyes with so much passion; he was just interrogating her, right? It frustrated her that she could not remember the details of her life. Damon then asked, "What else do you remember?"

She mentally debated whether or not she should tell him about his face being implanted in her memory. What kind of response could she expect from him? Would she get the much needed truth, or a bunch of lies that would make her keep guessing about the life she hopes to live once again. Then a flashing memory washed over her. And what she remembered scared the shit out of her. Elena shuddered and took a step back, letting his hands fall in front of him. She once again looked at him with complete horror.

One thing she remembered was a boy—looking roughly around seventeen or eighteen—drinking something around the effect of red jelly fill. His dirty blond hair stood up from his head like a wild animal's; his hazel-green eyes flared up with rage and redemption, an ugly mix. In her subconscious, she knows Damon to be connected with the man from this memory.

Elena ultimately decided to tell him. "Well, I remembered you—in a way. I remember your face but that's mainly it. And I know you are connected with this other guy. He's completely psychotic with doughnut filling on his face. Well, I think it's filling. Oh, and I know that you helped me in some way and you meant a lot to me."

She saw something light up in Damon, and these flutters began to tickle in her stomach and chest.

"And that's it?" Damon asked.

Elena sighed. "I'm sorry, but yeah. That's all I remember." Tears welled up in her eyes and she wiped them with her wrist.

Damon saw her practically crying and brought her in for a hug. Even though she hardly knew him, her body was used to him, and his hug was just what her body needed to calm her nerves and soon enough the tears stopped building up and she was just resting in the soothing comfort of his strong arms.

It was Damon who pulled away, even though it was clear to Elena that he wanted it more than she did. He gave both her hand and shoulder a synchronized reassuring squeeze and whispered in her ear, "It's all going to be fine."

(A/N: I Love that part that goes "She was just resting in the soothing comfort of his strong arms." Who else would just LOVE to do that?)

It was hard for Damon to convince himself of this, let alone Elena, who was all poor and alone and confused. But even in her state, Damon knew she could rat him out, call his bluff. Instead, she gave him the benefit of the doubt; she smiled, giving his shoulder and hand the same synchronized, reassuring squeeze. Then she let her sweet breathe touch his neck as she replied, "I know." Never has he loved her more than now. How ironic was all this? He wanted to know, because he could have sworn that as she said those two words, as she touched him, or—more ultimately—as her beautiful brown eyes stared at his blue—which obviously fell in comparison—he could've sworn she loved him back.

He told her to stay put. She relaxed on the bed and stayed absolutely quiet as Damon stepped out into the hallway. He pulled out his phone from the back pocket of his jeans and dialed Bonnie's number.

"What do you want, Damon?" her voice said after a couple of rings that left Damon impatient. But thankfully, she picked up before he had the urge to kill someone. "I need a little help with something," he replied into the microphone.

He heard Bonnie scoff. "What did you do this time, and why would I do anything for you?" she asked, quizzically.

This made the urge for someone's death return and he replied, speaking irritated yet clearly back to her. "It's not for me. I didn't do anything. It's for Elena."

That caught her attention. "What happened to Elena?" She sounded really worried. "Damon?"

"Well, if you must know," he started, acting, finally, more like himself, "Elena was in an accident and"—

"Oh, my god; is she okay?"

"**AND** she's having a hard time recovering from it."

"Did you give her Vampire blood?" Damon knew that Bonnie was a little skeptical of the power vampire blood possesses, especially since when Damon gave Caroline blood, she turned into a vampire the exact same night. However, it was Bonnie who gave him permission to feed her the blood and use it to heal her.

"No, I left her on the sidewalk and I'm calling you to pick her up," Damon said sarcastically.

"Damon, that wasn't funny. You shouldn't even joke about that kind of thing."

"Well, I'm Damon and that's what I do." He imagined Bonnie rolling her eyes after hearing that.

"Anyway, if you gave her the blood, there shouldn't be a problem."

"I know that there shouldn't be a problem. Sucks because there is one anyway. That's why I'm freaking calling you!" Damon, as well as irritated, was now frustrated. The only thing he could think about was Elena, who was in her room—the only one she's had all her life—not even knowing that it was her bedroom. And the person he called for help was giving him one of the hardest moments of his life and making him regret his decision of calling her in the first place.

"Okay, Damon, calm down. What's going on with Elena?"

"Bonnie, she doesn't remember a thing."


	5. Witch Voodoo Crap

Elena heard a door bell. Damon, who had been staring out the bay window for the past ten minutes, finally got up from his trance to answer it. Elena heard two different female voices coming from downstairs. One was quiet and silhouetted but it was also completely muffled and hard to make out. The other was loud and obnoxious—hollering out at Damon, "Where is she? What did you do to her?" Elena quickly matched the first voice with good. She wasn't sure how to classify the second.

Seconds later, Damon reappeared with the owners of these voices. Damon pointed to the girl on the left. She was a beautiful, dark skinned girl that wore her hair in beautiful curls. Damon recognized her as "Bonnie." Elena did her best to greet her nicely. The other one was a tall, pale-skinned blond—also pretty. But Damon didn't bother introducing her, so Elena felt guilty that she couldn't put a name to a face.

"This is Bonnie," Damon said directly. "She's here to help."

"Elena?" Bonnie said. She was the one with the more quiet and precise voice. "Are you okay?"

"I…uh…I'm sorry," she admitted with guilt.

"Damon," the blonde started, "What exactly happened?"

"Well, Caroline," he started, and then continued to tell the story.

In the end of his story, Damon let out a huge breath and Elena was happy for two reasons. First of all, she could now recognize the blonde as Caroline, who, along with Bonnie, is her best friend. Secondly, she also found out that she has run frantically out of some place called the Mystic Grill, Damon had followed her out, and as they were crossing the street, they almost got hit by a truck or something. Damon got her out of the way in time, but she must have hit her head on something.

"Well, did you give her some blood?" Caroline asked.

"Caroline, I am over one hundred seventy years old. You are eighteen. Don't you think that if you were to think of such an obvious solution as to give her vampire blood, I would too?"

Were Elena's ears deceiving her? Or did tiny phrases such as "one hundred seventy years old" and "vampire blood" pop out and scream at her? She immediately sat up and screamed, "What the hell?" She stared at the three of them; maybe it was her paranoia that was making them smile devilishly and walk closer and closer toward her? "Who the hell are you crazy people?"

Suddenly Damon's eyes widened and Caroline slapped him hard in the arm. "You didn't tell her?" she screamed.

"What was I supposed to say? 'Hey, Elena, not only are you an amnesiac, but that isn't even normal because I'm a vampire and my blood should've healed you completely.'"

"Damon!"

"What? I didn't say that! I wanted to be subtle."

"Well you did a nice job of at least trying to do that," Bonnie said sarcastically. She then turned to Elena, who coward in fear. "It is okay, Elena. I'm—we're—not going to hurt you."

Bonnie said it and something in Elena's gut told her that she could trust her words, yet why could she not? "Okay," she agreed somewhat willingly.

Bonnie gathered Damon and Caroline and started to whisper orders to them. Damon responded with a sarcastic 'yes, ma'am' and as he and Caroline passed through the door, he said all too loudly, "Seriously, who told Blondie over here to come?"

"Shut up, Damon," Caroline replied, shutting the door behind them.

Bonnie sighed and pulled out a giant book from the giant purse on her arm. She plopped the book on the bed. "We'll just wait for Damon and Caroline to come back with some candles." She then opened the thing to a random page as well as the page she just so happened to be looking for. She noticed something as she scanned the page, opened the door slightly, and called out in the loudest voice Elena didn't expect to hear. "Damon!" she screamed. "Where do you keep the vervain?"

"Ver-what?" Elena asked in a voice quieter in comparison, yet still a little loud.

"In the basement!" Damon shouted back.

Bonnie told her to stay put—and by now, the words were already implanted in her brain—and she ran out of the room. Elena got up from the bed and looked around the bedroom. She caught herself staring in the mirror, where two separate pictures were placed. One was of a girl and guy dancing in a beautiful suit and gown pair. It didn't take her long enough to realize that she was the girl and Damon was the guy. She couldn't help but notice how his eyes burned through hers, or how his hand caressed her back. She imagined them as he guided her across the dance floor—though it was a vague image with the picture being the only thing to go by. But, the ultimate thing that she noticed was that **she **let his eyes pierce hers, **she** was comfortable with his hand that low on her back, **she** imagined that scene. Most of all, her eyes stared back at him with the same passion and fierceness. It only made her think if they had something going on before her accident.

Then the next picture caught her attention especially. It was her and the guy from her vision—the one about the guy who thought it be cool to drink a bucket of red jelly fill that strangely looked like blood. They were staring at the camera directly and smiling, instead of the picture of her and Damon. In that picture, he was practically about to kiss her and they stared intimately into the souls of one another.

She decided to connect the other dude with a good friend. But she was still unsure about how she should go about classifying Damon. Was he more than a friend to her former self? Oh, she wished so much that she could remember.

There was a sudden knock on the door frame of the bedroom. Elena turned her heard, seeing Damon with narrowed eyes and a smirk glued to his face. "Taking a trip through memory line," he sighed, staring at the pictures.

"Ha, ha. Not funny. I just feel bad that I can't place a name with a face," she explained shortly, pointing to the second picture as she did so.

Damon walked closer to her and stared at where she pointed in the mirror. "Stefan." He had a hint of disgust and regret in his voice.

"Another thing," she cooed. "Before this," she gestured to herself, "happened, did we have something?"

But before he could reply—and Elena could see that she put him in an awkward position—he noticed Bonnie and Caroline standing in the doorway with their eyes stapled on Damon, and he greeted them immediately.

* * *

><p>When Elena asked if she had something going with Damon, he'll admit to thinking about taking advantage of the situation, yet he couldn't bring himself to do it. But he didn't know how to reply anyway. That's why he was thankful for Bonnie and Caroline. Bonnie, being Bonnie, gave him that "I'm watching you so don't do anything I'm going to make you regret" death stare. Damon, being Damon, knew that stare pretty well, and mouthed back "I'll tell you later." She nodded, loosened up the muscles in her face, ad motioned for Elena to get back on the bed. On the floor around the bed, they had placed ten candles evenly spaced around the bed. Bonnie did some witch-voodoo crap to make the candles light up.<p>

Damon stood back.

"Caroline, I'm going to need some of your blood," Bonnie said. Caroline took a silver blade in one hand and cut the length of her palm. Damon saw Elena flinch. By Bonnie's instruction, Caroline let her blood drip on the flames of all ten candles.

Bonnie then repeated some incantation from her book of spells. As she spoke, she spread herbs—including vervain—onto the bed. The flames grew bigger and brighter as the lights of the room flickered. Damon noticed and loved how the light from the flames danced across Elena's face and their reflection gleamed into her eyes.

Then, Bonnie became silent. The fire on the candles blackened out and for a moment, everything became completely dark, but then the lights went back on after tons of repetitive flickering. Damon noticed her passed out on the bed.

"Come on, guys. The Spell is done," Bonnie stated. Caroline followed her out of the room while Damon slowly trailed behind them. He stopped to stare at Elena's pure and beautiful face as he pushed the loose hair out of her closed eyes and pulled a blanket over her body, and finally, kissing her softly on the forehead. He stared at her through the doorway before turning off the lights and closing the door, patient for their reunion.

A/N: Sorry I didn't post yesterday; it was busier than expected. But here it is! Rate and Review, please! I really want some feedback on how the story is going so far. Here's something I'm going to do; after every update, check the author note in the ending for a question to answer in your review. Here we go: **Will Bonnie's spell work? If not, how do you think Damon will react?**

_**Love you all!**_


	6. Something to Not Believe In

_A/N: Happy Good Friday! And just for that I bring you another chapter. [Btw and just so you're ready, this chapter will have a lot of cuss words.] The question for last chapter was:_ **Will Bonnie's spell work? If not, how do you think Damon will react? **_Let's find out!_

~Here's the Story~

"What the HELL are you doing, Damon?" Bonnie exclaimed, just seconds after he closed the door and plopped himself on the couch.

"And what the HELL are you talking about?" Damon replied, looking at her skeptically.

"She means with Elena," Caroline stated. "You know; how she asked you if you had anything going on?"

"What about it?" Damon asked.

Bonnie smacked him in the arm. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING?" Bonnie asked him again.

"MY GOD! Why do I always have to be doing anything?" Damon asked in complete frustration. "How about this? What if I did absolutely, fucking nothing? That's possible, you know."

"Geez, Damon; calm down," Caroline replied. "Then tell us what exactly did happen."

"She was staring at some pictures; she asked about Stefan; then she asked me if we were in a relationship, though not exactly in those words but whatever."

"Wait," Bonnie demanded. "She asked about Stefan?"

Caroline chimed in, "Yeah? What did you tell her?"

"All she did was see that stupid picture on her mirror and say that she felt guilty that she couldn't put a name with a face—that face being, of course, Stefan," he clarified. "Then she asked me if there was something between." He smirked. You would think that by the way he kept repeating the last part that someone would actually catch on. Inside his mind, something was laughing.

"And that's it?" Bonnie asked skeptically.

"Basically," Damon responded.

"Does she know anything about Stefan?" Caroline asked. "I mean, does she remember that he's some emotionless monster that has hurt her more than a thousand times in one year?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "She doesn't know who she is," Damon responded, "let alone all that my stupid little brother did to her."

"Right. But she will…soon," she said. "Bonnie did the spell."

Bothe of them stared off at her. "Have anything to add to that, Bonnie?" Damon pushed, skeptically and quizzically.

"No," she replied, and then continued to be quiet; she was practically sitting in the corner like some depressed kid would do in class. Something was definitely up. Damon could easily see that, yet he couldn't place a finger on what it actually was.

"Anyway, what will happen when she wakes up?" Caroline asked Bonnie, but she was still keeping to herself.

"Nothing," Damon figured, responding into the silent air. He turned to Bonnie. "Because you didn't do anything, did you?" Damon, with all this anger and frustration buried within him, shouted at Bonnie.

"I don't know what you are talking about, Damon," she lied. "I performed the spell correctly. It should—it will—work."

"No," Damon denied. "You performed **a** spell correctly. It wasn't the right one, was it, Bonnie?"

"It was," Bonnie contradicted with a somewhat pained voice. "I… I wasn't—I'm still not—sure if I was strong enough to make it work."

"What?" Caroline and Damon exclaimed in sync. Then Caroline continued, "Then why did you do it without saying anything?"

"Well, you know Damon. Once you give him something to not believe in, he looks for a reason to not believe in it. No offense."

Damon, who was staring at her with both brows crossed, jaw clenched, and eyes narrowed, replied through his gritting teeth, "None taken."

"Anyway, I needed both of you to believe it would work for a better chance that it would."

"You are a lying bitch full of false hopes and promises," Damon said aloud, though it seems too personal and he wanted to keep the thought to himself. But, being Damon, he just had to open his mouth.

"Hey! I didn't come here for this. And I didn't come here to get your hopes up. I came here to see if I could help Elena. So stop yelling at me!" Bonnie said. "Damon, go home. Caroline and I are perfectly capable of taking care of Elena."

Damon debated his choice in his head before actually replying. "Fine," he said. "I'm done with your **shit **anyway." And he left in a breeze with the front door wide open.

* * *

><p>"Where have you been? Was his greeting when he slammed the front door to the Salvatore Boarding house. Damon stared into the soulless eyes of his little brother, who was drinking a glass of blood, only to prove Damon's point.<p>

"Not in the mood, Little Bro. Now, step aside." As Damon walked up to his room, he knew Stefan would follow and he did. As Damon opened his bedroom door, there he was, still carrying that bottle of blood. "What do you want?" Damon yelled out in monotone.

"Geez, why are you so dramatic? Getting in touch with your _feelings_?" he asked as if it were a sin. He laughed. "By the way, how is Elena, since I'm guessing you were with her?" Stefan probably lived to aggravate his older brother and Damon couldn't take it.

He pushed his brother against the wall, holding him by the chin. But Stefan continued to wear that dick head douche smile, which mad Damon cringe as he threatened, "Don't you dare question me. Don't you dare question me, brother."

But Stefan, being the evil he could be at times, broke free and just laughed. "Nice try, Damon." And he walked calmly out of the room, still laughing. He hung around the door and said, "Tell Elena I say 'hi'."

Damon wanted to scream out at him. "She doesn't even know who you are!" he would say. But many things were to have gone if he had said that. So he chose to keep his mouth completely. He gave his little brother this victory only because it could lead to his own victory, if fate were that kind. He crossed his fingers and hoped for the best before he had lain down on his bed. First thing in the morning, he would do everything he could.

* * *

><p>Elena woke up with a startle, hearing the orchestra of snores coming from the floor at the foot of her bed. Her head hurt like crazy as events from the previous night flowed in like a waterfall. <em>Damon. Bonnie's ritual. Caroline's questions. Damon.<em>

But, sadly, that's all she could remember in that moment. Just a bunch Damon and weird discoveries that she hoped wasn't actually true. But this sick feeling in her stomach told her it was. She groaned louder than expected. Luckily, however, the two—Bonnie and Caroline—were still asleep on the floor. There was no sign of Damon anywhere.

There was something about Damon that made Elena…well, it made Elena confused, for lack of a better word. It was mainly because she knew something was there, yet she didn't know what that something was exactly. And not only did it confuse her, but it scared the Hell out of her too. All she needed to know was if there was a history between them, but how could she get someone to tell her?

_Plotting. Plotting. Plotting._

There was a knock on the door followed by the calming chime of the doorbell. Elena hears Caroline's voice mumble a 'huh' and go back to snores. She swiftly and quietly went down the stairs, not even threatening to close the bedroom door just to keep the two asleep, and answered the door. Her subconscious was used to seeing his face and forced her to smile—practically shoving a crowbar up her mouth kind of force. The thing is, if it would have asked nicely, she would have been happy to oblige. Ignoring the actions of her reserved mind, she continued to smile, though it was slowly fading away, as she said, "Now, there you are, Damon! I was wandering where you went."

"You don't remember anything, do you?" Damon rushed out of his mouth.

Elena frowned then shook her head. "Nothing besides a few thing that happened last night," she replied, seeing his face fall as she finished. "But that's okay, Damon. I have a feeling the old me had a lot she wanted to forget."

"Maybe," he admitted, "but wouldn't it be nice to know those memories?" His suggestion made her stomach queasy with jealousy and anticipation. "Wouldn't it be nice to know who you are?"

"Yes, Damon, of course it would," Elena sighed. "But I can't dwell on it. I trust you and the two snoring girls upstairs to teach me all that I need to know." Elena stared at him with childlike eyes, batting her eyelashes. "Can you do that, Damon?"

There was a brief moment of silence that made Elena worry. Then his voice—oh, hearing it directed at her made her feel better than okay—replied, "Yes, of course. I can definitely do that."

Elena invited him in. But before she could get anything big out f him, Bonnie and Caroline were running down the stairs, screaming, "Is she back?" repeatedly.

Damon, who was most likely annoyed, screamed back at them. "NO!"

Elena hit his arm. "Don't scream at them!" she exclaimed. "You can be so aggressive sometimes." After saying this, Elena put her hand over her mouth while Damon, after hearing this, gave the crowd a smirk. Elena looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry, but I have absolutely no idea where that came from."

Bonnie and Caroline gave each other the same awkward smile. Bonnie told Elena to come with her back to the room while Caroline glared at Damon, waiting for them to leave so she could have a word with him.

**A/N: So…how was it? PLEASE Review! And question for next chapter (please answer in your review?): **_**Where did it come from? And what is Caroline going to say to Damon with Elena out of the way? **_**And most importantly:**

_**Are you interested yet? **_

**LOVE YOU ALL!**


	7. Instinct

**A/N: Hey! It's back! This was one of my favorite chapters to write. You'll see why as you read. And, BTW: My updates revolve around the number of reviews I get. Even though I get emails that someone added this story to their favorites and put me on Author alert or Story alert, it feels as if only one person is reading this! If you like it and you don't want me to stop writing, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! It could be one word, or a rating, something… just don't let me feel like I'm writing to no one!**

**Now the last question I asked was:**_**Where did it come from? And what is Caroline going to say to Damon with Elena out of the way?**____**Are you interested yet? **_Read on to find out!

~Here's the story~

Damon was still wearing his signature smirk even when the door to Elena's room slammed shut. "Stop that!" Caroline said. He got the death stare from her until he actually did stop.

"Okay. What do you want?" he asked.

"Bonnie and I think that it would be best for all of us if you didn't tell Elena anything about who she was besides the basics," Caroline stated, going straight to the point and leaving Damon a little bit confused.

"Why?" he asked. "She had a right to know."

"That's true, but what she might learn might just destroy her again at her state. Let her figure these things out on her own. You know her, and you know that sooner or later she will find out your plan. No matter was problem Elena is forced to face, she always finds a way to make things right. You've noticed that, haven't you?" Damon nodded. It was true, what Caroline was saying. Elena has always found a way to make thing right, though "right" may not have always been what she was expecting. And if things didn't turn to her favor, she always found a way to deal with it and except it—it was a quality Damon had always admired about her. Along with her bravery and strength, her ability to pursue what she believes in and never give up was one thing that made him fall in love with her.

"Okay, fine. So what are these 'basics' I'm supposed to tell her?"

"Tell her that her parents died. Tell her that she lived with her brother and whatever you want to label Alaric, but now she just simply lives with Alaric. Or just simply say that she has a brother and Alaric, since Jeremy is no longer here. Clarify your—our—state of undead and all the other supernatural things about her. Or just say that you're a vampire and leave it at that. But, whatever you do," she paused for dramatic effect, choking on her own words, "whatever you do, Damon, do not mention Stefan." Hearing that definitely got Damon's attention and he sat up on the couch just to make sure he was hearing this right.

"Oh?" he said with uplift in his tone. "Why?"

"We believe that it's what's best for her, Damon. That monster has broken her so many times and Elena was always so sympathetic to admit that he hurt her. It's best for her if she didn't learn about how Stefan acts as the monster he has become to us, so she will finally learn to stay away from him." Caroline's words sunk in. Damon never realized that anyone could feel that way about his little brother, who was always the golden child. To everyone, he was the best. Stefan was more fun to be around, says Klaus. Katherine always loved Stefan. And of course, Elena, the one that had irritated him the most: "I care for you, Damon. But it's Stefan. IT will always be Stefan." Her words would always make him sick, which made his proposal so tempting.

"It's a good thing for you as well," Caroline continued. "Think of it this way: you get a chance to see how Elena would feel about you if Stefan were never in the picture—preferably the one stuck to her mirror? Hint, hint. Do you get what I'm saying, Damon?"

"Yes." He understood completely, and, to be honest, he couldn't have been happier about the words coming out of her lips. For once, Damon Salvatore wasn't annoyed by Caroline Forbes talking.

"You know, you're not my favorite person per say, but honestly, right now, you're my favorite Salvatore…until you find a way to screw up again," Caroline stated.

"Gee," Damon exclaimed sarcastically, "Thanks."

Upstairs, the door to Elena's room opened and Slammed shut. Damon watched as Elena casually walked down the stairs, looking more irresistibly beautiful by the moment, her doe eyes glowing with a newly renounced innocence that made Damon's heart flutter. Bonnie trailed behind her, glaring at him. In response, he nodded, silently agreeing to their offer.

"Okay, she's all yours, Damon. Caroline and I have to go," Bonnie said.

Elena had developed a child-like voice. Damon noticed it when she replied, laughing, "Okay, Bonnie. I'll see you two later!" Even though it was a particularly normal phrase and it could've just been his paranoia. He didn't realize that Elena was the one to slam the door until he saw her walking towards him with her back opposing it. Then, she sat next to him fairly closer than he was used to—especially of her on accord—yet he was okay with it. "Guess it's just us," she chimed, sounding a little bored, yet still able to keep up her sing-song, child like tone.

He stared at her with a somewhat vague expression that he knew used to drive her crazy. "So what do you want to do?" he asked. She paused to think, getting stuck along memory lane, probably not even able to remember what her favorite color was. "We could stay here, go to my place, or, if you're hungry, there's this very tedious restaurant everyone hangs out at called the Mystic Grill, though that was the same place you stormed out of before you're accident, so I think we should stay clear from it for a couple of days just so we don't cause further damage."

"Uh…I'm not sure," Elena admitted. "What do I normally do?"

"Well, you have this undying need to barge into my house every time you can't find something to do and start yelling about some random crap," he joked.

"Like what?" she pursued.

"It depends. You either want something done, want to tell me something you did or are going to do, or you are going to yell at me for doing something completely stupid and that you disapprove of even though, deep down, you know that I was only doing it for you."

"Wow," Elena commented. "I sound very annoying."

"You have no idea," Damon said, smirking at his joke.

"And yet you still managed to deal with my annoyance every time I got bored. I don't know why, but I am highly turned on by that."

Damon was taken aback by her comment. But he shook it away as instantly as it came. He quickly thought of some way to reply. "Elena wouldn't say something like that," he noted. It was the only thing that popped into his head. And he said it. Nice going, smart one.

"Oh," Elena thought aloud. "Well, not only was I annoying, but I was boring too?

Damon felt it would be best to ignore the question completely.

"So I was boring." Elena let it sink in.

No one on Earth could possibly understand how horribly awkward he felt when talking to this new Elena. Before, he was the one with the smart ass comments/remarks, and now it was her. It could have been counted as intimidating. No, it actually was!

"Moving on," Damon said. "Have you remembered anything?"

"About that; I was wondering…" Elena started. "Well, there's no easy way to say this,"—

"Elena, it sounds like you're breaking up with me. Just spit it out," Damon reassuringly said.

"It's just that I know less about you than I do my own self—and I don't know anything at all. So I'm sort of embarrassed to even be thinking about it. I…I just need to know."

"You need to know what?"

"Damon, did we have anything—anything that could explain the feeling in my stomach and chest right now?" She asked more bluntly than it seemed humanly possible. And as the words hung in the air, she felt herself growing more and more embarrassed within a few seconds. And because of his intimidating stare that showed his ultimate shock and confusion, she buried her face in her hands, unable to even think about looking up.

But not only did it affect her. No, this definitely put Damon in a pretty bad position to be in, as well. If only Bonnie or Caroline could walk in and distract them like last time. Three, two, one…and there was absolutely nothing. Sucks.

"Well, Elena," Damon started. "How do I put this?"

"So we did have something?" Elena pursued. She thought about it the idea of it for a while and Damon could have sworn he caught a part of her smile.

"Sort of, Elena." He couldn't think of how to explain it without mentioning Stefan, and he realized that the objective would be harder than he thought. He decided to leave it at that. Damon brushed her cheek softly with his thumb, letting Elena see the first hint of happiness in his eyes since she woke up knowing nothing but complete darkness. "But, it's more complicated than you may think."

Elena felt on the roll—for reasons…unknown. When Damon told her that it was "more complicated than you may think," she smiled, brushed his dark black hair, and said, "Well, now it doesn't have to be." Damon just stared at her, a smile refusing to come onto his face. Elena slid her hand from his hair down to his earlobe. She went from a full hand to a finger as she danced across his collarbone and slid across his neck. Elena was just going with what her senses were telling her to do, no matter how self-conscious those requests—like this one—made her feel. Her fingers made their way to his neck line and other collarbone.

"Elena, what are you doing?" Damon asked, sort of in a half groan and half grunt. He was definitely enjoying himself, though he would never admit that to her, even though there was no shame with this Elena, who remembered absolutely nothing. It was probably because, in theory, she was still here, and that was enough for Damon to act the same around her.

Elena paused. "You know, Damon, I'm going with what my gut is telling me, because it is practically my only link to who I used to be."

"Well, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but your logic is flawed," Damon replied. "The old Elena would have never been so bold as to do things like this." He grabbed the hand that was seducing his throat and dropped it on her lap.

"Oh? That may be true, but I know for a fact that she wanted to. You see, Damon, a part of me is still the Elena you know. "She pointed to her head. "I have her body, her feelings, and sooner or later I'm going to be her, I'll be back to my old self—you know I will. Think of it as a temporary look into my deepest, most private thoughts that I would have never told anybody. You seem like the kind of guy that would like that sort of thing." Elena's reply made Damon quiver. Then he thought about it for a moment and sighed. Elena was frustrated by his hesitation and began to slowly blow up. "Fine! If you're in such a rush to get me back to my old self, than why don't you start with telling me whatever you're not telling me. I know that you are hiding something. Just take your own advice and spit it out."

When Damon didn't respond (he was too shocked by everything to do anything at all), Elena held her hands high above her head in total angst and fury. "OF course!" she said. "Goodbye, Damon. You are less help than I am, but I think that I'm the only one I can trust right now." She got up from the couch and headed up the stairs. "GO!"

"Wait, Elena, I can explain!" Damon called out.

But by the time he said it, Elena was at her door. "Too late," she replied right before closing the door in a loud _slam!_ Damon felt he had no other choice but to follow through with her wishes. Less than two seconds later, Elena heard the front door mimic the door to the room's loud slam. And Elena felt that all she could do was cry into a pillow. That's what her gut told her to do.

**A/n: Hey! So what'd you think about this chapter? I'm looking at the word count and it's my longest one. It was so fun to write. And the question for this chapter is: **_**What's do you think is with Elena? What do you think will happen if she keeps on listening to her gut? And do you think Damon will be able to keep up B&C's crazy proposition? **_Put your views on this chapter in your review! Please? Press the really pretty blue review button? Even if it's just a word, I honestly don't care! Just REVIEW!

**LOVE YOU ALL! :D**


	8. Darling Little Brother

A/N: Thanks SOOOO much for the amazing reviews! Now, last time, Bonnie and Caroline gave Damon a tempting proposal. The questions I asked last time were: _**What do you think is with Elena? What do you think will happen if she keeps on listening to her gut? And do you think Damon will be able to keep up B&C's crazy proposition? **_Well, don't just sit there and wonder. Keep reading and hope that you'll soon get your answer!

~Aquí está la historia aka: Here's the story!~

Coming through the doors of his home, The first thing Damon Salvatore saw was, again, the emotionless face of his darling little brother—hoping that his sarcasm was heavily noticed. Instinctively, this mad Damon turn around and head for the door. But, of course, his little curious and stopped him. "Damon," Stefan said, "What in the world have you been up to?"

"Oh, little bro," Damon said, finding a way to come up with something fast. "Leave this discussion for the big boys," he stalled. Stefan did nothing but laugh that stupid laugh of his. Damon tried to escape, but Stefan race in front of him and put a hand on the eldest Salvatore's breast plate.

"Woah, Damon," he said. "Now let me ask again. What are you doing?"

"Honestly, Stefan, why do you even care? It's not about Klaus, I can honestly admit to that. It's not about anything you'd actually care about. I know this to be really true considering I'm in this situation and not you."

Stefan put two and two together. "This is about Elena, isn't it?" he asked quizzically. Damon ignored his eyes and instead looked side to side, obviously giving away his answer. "Huh...of course it is about Elena. What happened this time? Did you kill someone?"

Damon scoffed. "Well, if you're so smart, why don't you tell me?"

"Hey, there's no need to be cross about it. I was just asking."

"Yeah," Damon replied. "And I was just leaving." Damon pushed his brother aside and headed out the door. Damon hated his brother. In some way, somehow, for some reason, he always hated Stefan. He was a bipolar mess. For a second, he's some emotional douche, hitting and falling for Elena—firstly only taking an interest on her resemblance to Katherine. Yes, Damon too was intrigued by her looks, but it wasn't until he realized that they were completely polar opposites that he realized that he was falling for her too. But then, in the next second or two—not even the length of one blink—he's picking on his older brother because said older brother feels something and because he knows that the same brother has feelings for the same girl.

Yet, no matter how loose and understanding Damon became for whoever the two siblings were fighting over, Stefan always came first. Maybe this proposition was a good thing; maybe seeing how life could have been if Stefan were never in the picture would be good for him. IT was a very tempting offer, a blessing with an unreliable disguise. Before he reached his car, he quickly decided on what he should do.

Then he was off.

Elena brushed another tear as it threatened to fall from her blurry eyes. She didn't know what she was doing. She didn't know anything for that matter. It was a whole different experience, no one knew what to do and no one could relate. She felt so hopeless, useless, like a bother, and she suddenly felt alone in all of this. Remembering the look in Damon's eyes and seeing the pain and melancholy embedded in his blue irises made her heart shatter into a million pieces. And she didn't know why, of course, but if felt as if her heart was already broken. It sucked to not know anything about her. It completely, utterly sucked.

The doorbell chimed and echoed through the shallow walls that surrounded the perimeter of the bedroom. She took in a deep breath through her mouth (mainly because she had been crying for a while and her nose was stuffed), rubbed her eyes, and headed for the door. She opened the door and saw the last person she expected to see, yet she was hardly surprised.

"Damon," she said. He examined her and she started to feel self-conscious. She imagined the lids around her doe eyes were swollen and red, along with her stuff nose being a matching shade of pink, and her brown hair was a mess over her head. He was silent, and the only think that surprised her was the understanding in his eyes that pierced through to her. Her senses pushed her into him and she welcomed them—and him—with open arms. "Oh, my god; I'm so sorry! I was just mad and confused and I felt so alone because you wouldn't tell me anything, but I realize that I'm not alone." She breathed/sobbed into his dark green polo shirt—which looked out f place on his body, but still looked good—and his fingers brushed through the knots in her hair in calming and gentle strokes. "I have you, Damon."

"And I'm not going anywhere this time, Elena. I should have never left you in the first place." Damon said before he kissed her hair. "It wasn't your fault. I just wasn't used to you acting like you were. I'm sorry."

Elena pulled away and invited him in. While he stood next to her, she wandered clueless into the kitchen. "I'm seriously thirsty, but I couldn't find my way to a glass or cup or something," she explained. Damon chuckled lightly. He opened the first cabinet door next to the fridge and reached only to pull a medium sized glass from the second shelf. Elena coughed. "Anyone could have done that."

"Apparently not, since you failed at it."

"Shut up," Elena said, smiling. Elena got her water and gulped it down. "So what are we going to do now?

"What do you want to do?"

"Well, I don't remember much about my old life, but I do specifically remember you mentioning your house. I would do anything to get out of this house. It feels as if I've been living in this very house my entire life. In a way, I have," Elena replied.

"I don't know," Damon replied, thinking about Stefan and how horribly wrong it could go and how much trouble all of it could be.

But looking at Elena's face as she begged and pleaded—"Please, Damon?" she asked. "Please?"—he couldn't so no. He wondered how he ever managed to do it before. He nodded in reply, loving the way her face lit up. She held her hands high above her head in victory.

She followed him to his care like a puppy. It was a short car ride, much shorter than it should've been, not saying that it was ever long. Elena stared in awe at the house comparing it to a mansion in her mind, except she has never actually seen a mansion before.

"It's a boarding house," Damon clarified as if he were reading her mind, "which is why it's so big."

"Oh," Elena thought aloud. "It makes sense."

Then they walked up the steps to the front door. Damon pulled out his keys, and they were inside. Elena gaped at the inside, which looked to be ten times bigger than the outside.

"Wow," Damon said. You'd think you'd stop staring if you have seen it over a million and one times.

"Damon," Elena said laughing, "Stop making jokes."

"Uh huh," he said. "So this is it. It's nothing much or anything special."

"Are you kidding me? I think I can hear my own echo!" Elena brought up. "Echo! Echo!"

"Haha, funny," he mused, wearing that smirk of his on his face.

"I'm serious," Elena said, continuing her cheerful laughing song. She suddenly became straight faced. "Speaking of which, that whole voodoo crap wasn't...real...was it?"

Damon smirked. "What do you think?"

"Well I think that my old life was crazy," Elena admitted. "But you weren't serious about you being over three hundred years old, were you?"

"You make me sound so old. For one thing, it was over one hundred seventy, not three hundred. And no I wasn't joking. I'm one hundred seventy-one years old."

"You have got to be kidding me!" Elena yelled out in excitement.

"You're taking this pretty lightly," Damon pointed out, recalling the first time she found out about him and his brother's state of undead. "You do realize that I'm a vampire, right? Do you not fear me, Elena?"

"Damon, I may not know a lot about anything right now, but I just have this gut feeling that I can trust you and that trust pushes me to believe that you wouldn't dare to hurt me," Elena explained, keeping her straight face as she caught his stare. Then her face lightened up, slowly losing its seriousness. "Besides, like I keep telling you, a part of me is still the old Elena Gilbert everyone knew and loved. And that me obviously knew about all of this, so a part of me has already gotten used to the idea."

Damon heard a slam. Elena didn't expect it and jumped up, landing into Damon's arms. The look on Damon's face said trouble, so she took it as a warning sign that read: "Try and be a good actor." Coming down the stairs was a dirty blonde haired guy. It wasn't until he looked up that Elena recognized him as that guy from the second picture, the one from her vision. What was his name? Sam? Steven?

"Hello, Stefan," Damon said with darkness riding on his voice. Elena nodded in 'Stefan's' direction.

"Damon," Stefan greeted. "Elena." She looked down and avoided his eyes, convinced that if he were to look at them he would see right through her game and scared of what could've happened if she were to meet them. But she did notice the smile Stefan wore on his face. It was similar to the smile Stefan wore on his face when they took that picture. But there were slight differences. For one, his face was completely emotionless when it used to show a lighter and happier side. And his eyes were now popped out and somewhat strained instead of relaxed and calming to look at. To summarize it up, he looks completely psychotic compared to the picture stuck to her mirror. Was there a story behind it? Or did he just look better on paper than he did in real life?

"Well, I'd hate to miss whatever scheme you two are attempting, but I am just really hungry," Stefan said. "I'll let you two stay here while I go find someone to eat."

Hearing this grabbed Elena's attention, and her eyes popped out wide just to see if he was telling the truth. So he was another vampire; Elena felt stupid not realizing it in the first place. What was she thinking, jelly fill? Elena quickly thought of something to say. "Stefan…you know how I feel about either of you," she looked at both of them, "drinking human blood. Now I understand that I can't stop either of you from…feeding…but I would appreciate it if you didn't broadcast it to the entire freaking world!"

Elena could see Damon's eyes widen in surprise. She realized she probably didn't do so well; she shrugged to herself.

"Oh, that's right. You two have got your little thing going on," he said laughing. Was it possible that his laugh was more demonic than his actual face? "Tell me, Elena, what did you do that's got this guy all worked up?"

"Uh…" Elena struggles with words. "I'm tired and pretty PMSy, so I'll just talk to you later, Stefan, if I find you worth talking to. Damon, come on. I need to tell you something and if we go upstairs, it at least looks like an attempt to keep him out of it." Elena looked between the two and headed up the stairs.

Damon smirked at her boldness. He liked this new Elena. She knew what she wanted and she wasn't afraid to ask for it. That could be handy. No…he shook that thought out of his head. He wouldn't do that to her no matter how tempting. She wasn't like other girls; she was never like them no matter what state she was in.

"Well… What the hell was that?" Stefan questioned.

"What was what, brother?" Damon replied, even though he knew perfectly well what was being refered to.

"Elena. What was going on with Elena?"

"She was just standing up for herself. She's taken enough of your crap to last her a lifetime, and you know that. But you still insist that you have no feelings when she's around—you insist that your humanity is turned off. You want to push her away, so don't blame anybody but yourself if she decides you're not worth it anymore," Damon explained. As he said the words that have been hidden within him for weeks—months even—he felt like he overpowered him once again.

But Stefan, who was as aggravated as Hell, sucker punched Damon on the cheek. Damon's eyes were filled with fury. "And she's right," he finally said. "You're not worth it, Stefan."

Damon slipped past his brother and headed up the stairs. He heard Stefan slam the front door, along with footsteps fading into the blowing air outside. He looked for Elena, who probably got lost. "Elena?" he called out.

Elena came out of nowhere and greeted him with a bright and warm smile. Then the smile turned somewhat awkward when she asked him, "I didn't do such a convincing job, did i?

"Actually," Damon contradicted, "you did almost exactly what I've always wanted you to do. Except for the fact that I got punched in the face, but besides that, it went great."

"What is with that guy? He punched you?" Elena exclaimed.

"My brother is just going through a phase. Just wait a decade or two and he'll be back to normal," Damon suggested.

"Well not all of us have a decade—or two—to spare on such an arrogant jerk like Stefan. I can't imagine anybody wasting time like that," Elena said, brightening Damon's day. "Was he always like this?"

"Um…no, not always. He…started out like this and we lost touch. Then we got back in touch and he was changed. Then he was back to his old self. It's hard to explain my brother. Like you said, he's pretty PMSy." Damon smirked.

"I'm pretty sure I was talking about me," Elena giggled. "In that picture on my mirror he looked…different. In a good way, I mean. Now he just looks psychotic and aggravated."

"You have no idea." Damon breathed out deeply.

* * *

><p>An: Hey guys! So I don't have much to say. But before you read the chapter question, here's a quote from the song "A Shot Across the Bow." These verses inspired the story.

It's time I said this but I'm so choked up  
>And I need my sanity<br>I'm scared, believe me  
>You can see me smile<br>If you let me just stick around

Well this is bye, bye baby  
>It ended like a sudden stop on a freight train<br>If you're not happy and you hurt this much  
>Then let me just stick around<p>

Can you tell? Okay…the question for this chapter is: **What do you think of this new Elena? Will Stefan ever find out?**

Please answer in your review!

_**LOVE YOU ALL! 3**_


	9. I Can Handle It

A/N: Sorry I hadn't updated for a long time; I had so much homework and I have been so extremely tired lately. It's not even funny. Plus, I was storing up on my vampire diaries, since there hasn't been a new episode in weeks. Today is what I hope to be a Delena turning point, and I finished off this chapter in complete angst and excitement. So here it is now, the next chapter in Elena's memory lane. Last time, I asked you guys what you thought of this new Elena and if your think Stefan will find out. I'm really routing for it; means more drama for me to write and for you, my awesome readers, to read AND review on. But I haven't written lately and this chapter is all I have so far!

~Narito ang kuwento (Filipino for Here's the Story!)~

Elena and Damon were doing absolutely nothing yet the were perfectly fine with it. Damon just sat on his bed while Elena wondered around. "I had a question," she announced. "What's with this necklace around my neck?" She held high the chain Stefan had given her and the pendant started to dangle.

"Oh, that? You got it to protect your mind from compulsion," he clarified.

"Compulsion?"

"It's a term for a vampire's powers like mind control or telepathy or something to that effect. There's vervain on it—which is this plant that is harmful to us." His explanation mad Elena thirsty for more knowledge about who she used to be

"Why can't you just tell me anything else? I know that there's more to the story than vervain and compulsion. And I know Stefan didn't just change. I have this gut feeling that you are not telling me everything. Damon, I have the right to know."

"Elena, I understand that you feel confuses and angry, but let's take baby steps. Right now, stick with what I have told you. Trouble will come if you don't."

"Like what?" she asked with interest.

"Well, you'll get hurt finding out the truth about Stefan, for one thing."

"Damon, just tell me. Whatever it is, I can handle it. I'm a big girl, you know."

"No you can't Elena. You broke the first time; you wouldn't admit it, but you did. And I couldn't stand it if you broke again."

Elena's eyes were calmer. "Really?" she asked. She thought about it for another moment. "Was it that bad?"

"Elena, it was terrible to watch. You were in denial. It hurt to know how much you were hurting yet you tried to be strong and put on a good show."

"I get that you are worried about me. But I'm not going to break a second time. This is a new me, and whatever it is you're keeping from me won't affect me as much as it would have because I don't have the experience and memories that the old Elena had. I couldn't physically connect the information to a past situation because I have only lived a day. Yes, I part of me will be able to understand, but I would only be able to process words to create an idea of what you would be talking about. I wouldn't know exactly; I couldn't put it to an image. And besides that, you do realize that you just gave away tons of valuable information?"

"Eh, yeah I knew what you were aiming for," Damon admitted. "But that's all I am willing to tell you."

Well, that's actually all I need. I think I have the full story—or at least the basics," Elena bragged. She looked at Damon deviously. "Do you want to hear what I have come up with? I think it's pretty good for just meeting Stefan the one time and for only living through this for a day, like I said before."

Damon counted the time in his head. "Wow. It's only been a day."

"Yeah…so is that a yes?"

"I am sort of interested in how much you have come up with, so yes it is a yes."

Elena took a deep breath before starting. "I figure that I like you. I liked you more than anyone knew, except you knew. But I also cared deeply for your brother. He was either a really good friend who hid a crush on me and I just happened to like him back or we were actually dating. Either way, I was your brother's girl when you started to like me. That's when your sibling rivalry began—and since you guys are vampires, I can figure it to be really violent. Then, something made Stefan swap to the state he is in right now. I think I broke up with him or something to that effect. I probably couldn't decode my feelings and I did it to spare his if I were to choose you instead of him." As she talked, she didn't once meet Damon's eyes, though she felt their watch on her the whole time. It was awkward; they had just clarified that she had only spent a day with him, yet she was already talking about her feelings, and the drama, and the supposed love triangles in her life. It was all too crazy to comprehend. And she honestly didn't think that any of it was real. When she finally finished explaining her conclusion, she looked up. His face was straight, yet his eyes looked at her with amazement.

"You were really close," he told her. "Are you sure you don't remember?"

"Like I said, when I woke up, the only thing I could remember was my name and your face. Then, when you asked me what I remembered, I saw Stefan drinking blood—but at the time I thought it was jelly fill," she looked down and smiled in embarrassment before she continued. "Well, it looked like Stefan and it looked like jelly fill. It was like I got a surge followed by a sudden glimpse of the past that got ripped away from me as soon as it came. But that story was just something that I pieced together. I've been paying really close attention."

"I can tell."

There was a moment of awkward silence then, until Elena looked at him with adoring eyes that would have made him blush if he wasn't a vampire, but the color would have quickly faded into the pale of his skin if he could. "Thank you," she rushed. It came out in one word. "For what has been going on, it's good to know who I can or used to trust." Elena looked down and frowned. "What if I never get my memory back? I'll always be this clueless girl that can hardly remember yesterday."

"Hey! I won't have you thinking like that," Damon replied. HE took her by the hand and forced her to return his gaze. "We'll get through this. We always get through these things, Elena. And so what if your memory never returns? We'll make new ones."

Damon wasn't sure if he was good at the whole caring thing. But the words that came out of his mouth have never been more true and have never flowed out more naturally. It was as if this was all meant to happen. Now if only he could figure out why. (?) Anyway, even if he was no good at showing his feelings, at least Elena couldn't remember the old Stefan to compare him to. He realized that he was still holding her hand and was still staring down at her beauty. If what they say about the eyes being the gateway to the soul is true, then she could see every ounce of him as he put it on the line to showcase. Her smile made his insides flutter.

Damon knew that Elena felt something for him, but she had always diminished it because she still had feelings and hope for Stefan. Her crazy in denial only made Damon want to chase her more. But it would have taken longer than expected to get a confession out of her. Then the accident happened. Not only did she mention liking him but she also called Stefan psychotic. That made him happy. She also said something about flutters in her stomach—or was he just hearing/making up things? He didn't hear anything remotely close to that when she spoke about Stefan. Look at him, he can't even tell apart these things. That must mean something, right?

"Damon," she caught his attention.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," she said. Feeling confident, Elena pecked Damon on the cheek. This definitely caught him by surprise and his stomach felt queasy and fluttery all over again.

This was so out of character for the both of them—and at the rate this scene was playing out. Both these factors were new concepts for his relationship with her. Yes, he knew that Elena wasn't herself and that _he_ was a new concept for her (making this a whole lot worse and unexpected). Now he wished he saw the Vow like Elena wanted to, but no—he could listen to Taylor Swift but that's where he drew the line. Chick flicks had to be beneath him. He kept asking himself the same question over again as if it were a song on replay. _What am I going to do?_

There was a slam at the door that made Elena's head cock to the direction of the loud BOOM! it had made. "I think your brother is home," she said. Damon pulled away and practically forced her to drop hi grip on his neck. He pretty much ruined that completely intimate moment that turned her insides to mush—a feeling she liked and had already gotten used to. It felt nice to be wrapped in his arms, unafraid of the future, with all this passion pumping into her as she stared into his eyes. She honestly and literally could have stayed that way forever if Stefan hadn't walked through the front door and ruined it. Obviously, Damon didn't want him to see. At least she got one thing out of it: a proven theory.

Elena was staring at Damon even though he was staring at the door. "Hello, Stefan," he said, catching her off quard. She turned toward the direction of the door and her gaze fell upon the dirty-blond, green-eyed vampire in front of her. "Stefan," she echoed, looking at him awkwardly.

"Okay, no. Seriously, what is with you two lately?" he asked. His voice wasn't questioning as it was irritated and halfway filled with frustration.

"Nothing that involves you," Damon replied.

"Is this about Klaus?" Who? Elena thought to herself.

"Not everything is about your psychotic need for revenge, brother."

"Then tell me," he said. Then he turned to Elena. "You are awfully quiet. Why don't you tell me?"

"No, Stefan. You don't own me; you can't pull some strings and make me talk." Elena replied, semi confident.

Elena could see Stefan and how his eyes were filled with anger and frustration. He seemed to be completely buried in negative emotion but no one seemed to hear his cry for help when he's six feet underground. Looking at him made Elena feel something. It was vague but it was there. But it wasn't long before it washed away and he said something that made her regret giving him a second thought.

"You know what?" he said. "I don't know why I'm even bothering with you two—my lying and pathetic brother and my just as pathetic girlfriend."

"Take that back, you little BASTARD!" Damon cried out.

"No, Damon, it's okay," Elena said, keeping her eyes glued on Stefan. "The pathetic one is him. Just admit that you lost, Stefan. If you can't admit that and put it all behind you, then I don't want you in my life." Stefan's eyes widened as he took in her harsh words. "Get out! Stefan, go away!"

And without a word, he was gone, leaving Damon amazed at how well she handled the situation—even better that the first Elena would have in his opinion—especially considering she didn't know the story line. No, this Elena opened this book in the middle without a clue about what had already happened. That never ceased to amaze him, how she san always make the best of the situation, whether it's losing Stefan, giving herself as a sacrifice to Klaus, or…losing her memory. Just realizing and really seeing the full extent to her strength was just what Damon needed to fall in love with Elena Gilbert all over again.

But the ultimate best part about this whole thing was when he was thinking all of that, there Elena was, staring at him. And Damon could tell from the way that her eyes gazed into his that she was falling for him, too.

**A/N: OH, MY GOD GUYS! Right now it's about 5:06 pm here, and I am so excited for the next episode. Even though I have been watching every episode from season on to season three all over again, I feel VDD! (vampire Diaries Deprived.) But that was my latest chapter, and I am going to try to have a weekly update from now on! I know that I probably lost my reviewers on my break, but I will do anything to get you guys back!**

**The question for this chapter is: **_**HOW DID Elena KNOW THAT? **_Leave your reply, feedback, suggestions, or ratings by clicking that really pretty review button below! :D


	10. More Perfect Than Ever Before

**A/N: I am soooooooo sorry that I haven't updated in Forever, and I kept a lot of you hanging—or the lot that is still waiting for this update. I'm pretty sure I lost all my reviewers during the weeks where I didn't post, but by the time it's June, and school is out, my constant updates will make up for it. Okay, so in my last update—which might seem like forever ago—I asked HOW DID Elena KNOW THAT? It was referring to her theory about the life she doesn't remember.**

**Keep reading to see if it's answered!**

~Chapter Ten~

"Damon," she said in a whisper that loudly broke the silence.

"Hmmm…?"

"I'm hungry."

Damon looked up. "Interesting."

"I'm not joking Damon, so I don't know why you are," Elena said. "And I want to help myself in this subject, but frankly I don't remember how to cook or how to navigate through this giant mansion to find a kitchen—all sad but true. And besides, maybe you can teach me some things about myself over dinner. Plus, if I die of starvation, it's on you."

"Okay, fine. I'll pick up something from the Mystic Grill," the raven-haired man decided.

"Ooh, can I come with you?" Elena asked.

"I don't think that that's a good idea. Besides the fact that you ended up without a memory after walking out of that place, there's also the fact that people who tend to eat there tend to know you and will know if something weird is going on. Then they could notify Stefan, which would be bad, or they could tell something ten times worse, which would be…worse." Damon thought about the possibility of an Original being there while Elena remembered nothing. What if Klaus was there? The thought made him sick.

"There's something worse than Stefan?" Elena asked, finding it hard to believe.

"Way worse," Damon replied. "Vampires and witches aren't the only things there are in this world. There are Originals—the worst kind of vampires there are. There are werewolves. There are hybrids—the mix between vampires and werewolves. There are a lot of gruesome thing, too many to put onto you in one moment." Damon told her. Her only reply was a soft and innocent "oh". He stood up in a second, put o his black leather jacket in another two seconds, and was back in her face in a second and a half, literally.

"Wow. I can get over that you're a vampire, but it's going to take a while for me to get used to the speed," Elena commented. "It's just so amazing even though I can't see it."

Damon smirked at her direction. It was weird; Elena liked his smirk, but hated when he used it on her. Using it was like mind control to her. It was like, with one certain curl of the lip and narrowing of the brows, she would be tempted to do whatever he said. Not to mention how intimidating it can be and, for some reason, it made her insides feel awkward. But that isn't the weird part. The weird part was that she liked it. So, as he smirked away at her, she looked down to avoid it, but a smile grew onto her face. She laughed while at the same time, she asked, "Why do you do that?"

Keeping the smirk planted on his face, he asked, "Do what?"

Elena looked up and stared at him. "You know what. That little eye thing you do." He held his stare and curled lip, succeeding in making her laugh.

But, on the inside, hearing this—the repetition of her words—shocked Damon completely. She had said that line before; he was sure. He smiled, knowing that what she had been telling him was true. A part of her was still the old Elena, a part of her still remembers everything. Now he was sure that she could regain her memory. But he kept this news to himself, only replying with an exaggerated 'fine', an uncurled lip, and a loose stare. Elena was now silent, but still had her beautiful smile on. Feeling confident that he could pull it off without the mass destruction of the entire world falling on their heads because of it, he slowly and gently kissed pecked her cheek, pressing his cold lips onto the warmth of her skin.

* * *

><p>When Damon kissed her cheek, she felt a brush of sensation wash over her skin—over her whole body. She felt the aftershock of his touch when he left and slammed the door behind him. She got these flutters in her stomach and chest. She jumped on the bed, covered her face with a pillow (which was luckily drenched in the scent of his dark cologne), and let out a loud scream of the emotion that was taking over her stomach. She kicked her feet into the air like a normal teenage girl with a crush that had just asked her out would do, and how she knew that was correct was a mystery. Seconds later, her screaming came to a sudden halt and she sat up calmly as if nothing happened, fixed her messed-up hair, and stood up to wander around the room.<p>

There wasn't much to the room; it looked like a normal room with a bed, shelves, and all the average furnishing a room would have, with the exception of the bathroom being a huge gap in the wall with no doors or anything, which made Elena curious but still able to laugh. But, at first glance, you couldn't tell if the owner of the room was a normal twenty or so year old, or an undead one hundred and seventy one year old trapped in a twenty or so year-olds body. There were books placed messy on a shelf. One book, The Call of the Wild by Jack London, was even open on his side table. The room smelled of death clouded by the scent of strong men's cologne. But what more could you expect from a sexy, mysterious vampire like Damon? Wait, did she just call Damon sexy? _Note to self, _she thought, _don't tell him I thought that._ She has a feeling that if she did, she wouldn't hear the end of it.

A slam came from outside the door, and, like Elena did last time she was surprised by a slam, she jumped in shock and lost her balance. But, unlike last time, she landed on Damon's bed and not his arms. The revelation made her kind of disappointed, the kind that made her miss his presence. In the past—what?—thirty-six hours, she had gotten used to his presence being the only one she sensed at all times. She had grown used to him and now liked the feeling in her stomach when she saw him, a feeling that was too good to even compare with the feeling she got when she only thought about him. It wasn't hard to tell that her old self loved him, and that she was lucky enough to inherit that trait. But did he like her back?

Plotting. Plotting. Plotting.

She suddenly remembered the slam and prepared herself for another round with Stefan, a round that was actually taking a while to show up. Then, she thought, _why did Damon want her to pretend she never lost her memory around him? Why was he such a monster to deal with? _It seemed to be getting harder and harder to convinve him, yet Damon still insists that she is doing a ood job. Actually, to tell the truth, she was so confused about the whole fucking thing. She wanted her memory back, she wanted to know everything that happened, and, most of all, she wasted Damon. And it's mot like she was acting spoiled or something; those were reasonable requests—except for the last one, which was probably really selfish.

Elena sat down on the bed and looked down awkwardly as her eyes traced the floor of the room. Then the door creaked as it opened, and Stefan immediately took a place against the door hinge, just as she expected him to do. But, with him being a vampire and all, she at least expected him to be faster, which he wasn't. He wasted some time that Elena could hardly spare since practically everything was better than talking to Stefan. Coming from a girl that hasn't experienced a lot of things that she could honestly remember, that was saying a lot. "What are you doing?" she asked, showing little care to his reply.

"I could ask you the same thing, Elena. And I could ask you where my brother is," he replied.

"Well, I guess I'm lucky you are not asking those questions," she replied, feeling slightly uncomfortable as his eyes wandered her body. " But if you were asking those questions," she continued, "I'd say 'none of your business' to the first and 'getting food' to the second. But, you know, you never asked and I never answered." She gave him a little wink and saw how his face lit up as he laughed with a smile, a genuine smile. She didn't think that it was possible o see the same smile from the picture on her mirror, but there it was in front of her. It was that same smile and not that crazy demonic smile he first showed her. When she felt that she was rambling inside her head, if that were even possible, Stefan replied.

"I'm serious, Elena."

"And I gave you a serous answer. Actually, I gave you two serious answers. But, it really is none of your business and Damon doesn't want you to know."

"Since when have you, Elena Gilbert, listened to what my brother, Damon Salvatore, has to say?" he questioned, offending Elena in the process.

"IT's not just him. I don't want you to know either, Stefan. It doesn't affect you."

"You know, you say that and I hear it, but I just don't think that you are telling the truth," Stefan admitted to her.

She gasped. "Are you saying that you don't trust me?" she jerked in a somewhat serious tone, though she had just asked a vital question that she could need to know the answer to.

"Yes, Elena; that's exactly what I'm saying," he clarified.

"Well, _Stefan_," she said, putting emphasis to his name, "that makes two of us."

* * *

><p>It didn't take that long for Damon to get to the mystic grill, yet it took him long enough to realize it was a big mistake. First of all, witch Bonnie and Blondie Caroline were there, sipping their Southern iced tea and chatting away about things he couldn't care less about. Then they spotted him, walked up to him with popping wide eyes, and asked, "Where's Elena?"<p>

"I left her at my house," he replied.

"Oh, and how is Elena?" Caroline asked.

_More perfect than ever before, _was what Damon wanted to say, though he knew it would probably lead to a terrible reputation. Wait, since when did he care about what other people thought about him? Oh God, he was getting soft. "Elena doesn't remember a thing, still," Damon said. "But it's weird; she put together this summary of her life and although there were some facts wrong, she was ultimately really close."

"How?" Caroline asked while Bonnie just stared at him.

"Well, I took her to my house, and Stefan was there, and she acted like she remembered very convincingly. She had looked at the way we had all reacted then put the pieces together."

"She met Stefan?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah," Damon replied, "he was there and acted like his normal self and Elena acted better than her normal self, telling both us Salvatore brothers that he was not worth her time."

"Is that it?" Caroline asked.

"No. Afterwards, we headed up to my room and—," he started with a smirk on his face before Caroline slapped his arm with her vampire force. She gave him an annoyed look that he replied to with a laugh. "—and we sat and talked. Geez, Barbie, clean your mind a bit."

Caroline rolled her eyes and ignored his last comment to go back to the subject that was already on the table. "So she really said that about Stefan? That's good news for you."

Damon sighed. "I guess," he replied. "But it's getting hard to keep this from her."

Bonnie scoffed. "Yeah, right, Damon," she commented. "You've kept many things from Elena from the first time you stepped back into Mystic Falls. All both you Salvatore's seem to do to her is keep secrets from her." Her statement sent Damon seconds from the edge and it took him a hell of a lot of self-control to not do anything reckless to the witch.

"Yes, I did," the raven-haired vampire replied the gritted teeth. "But that was completely different from what I am doing right now."

"How is it possibly different?"

"Those things I kept from her had information that people—specifically supernatural people—would literally kill for. Telling her would have sent her on a one way ticket to a grave in the Mystic Falls Cemetery. I did it to save her life, not keep her from it!" Damon explained, tired of their questions. " have to tell her. I can't not tell her."

"Okay, Damon, tell Elena," Caroline said. Tell her and destroy her a second time. You know, I thought you'd be happy about this. Stefan is out of the way. You won Elena."

Damon sat down at their booth to avoid people listening to the conversation. Bonnie and Caroline's eyes followed his movements to the strictest point. His voice was hushed like he wanted, but it didn't fail to express his anger at the two girls in front of him. "Now listen to this. I am sick and tires of all of your crap. I don't need it on my plate. None of us needed this, but it happened and what we could do is tell her everything. This isn't helping anyone."

"Okay, Damon, then tell her. Tell her everything," Caroline replied in an unconvincing tone.

"You're her friend! You shouldn't want this for her."

"I am her friend. And this is what's best for her."

"No, this is what's best for you. But I have to tell Elena. I can't keep this from her."

"Damon, like we've said a thousand times. Go ahead. We're not stopping you. Tell her." Bonnie replied.

"Tell her what?" There was a voice behind the booth that made Damon turn cold. Bonnie and Caroline stared past him and over at the speaker. Damon sighed, face palmed, and looked plain and pained at the psychotic and damned seventeen year old opposite the booth in which the witch, the blond, and the eldest Salvatore sat. Damon shot him a smirk. "Tell Elena that you are a bitch and she bolongs with me," he came up with. "But…she already knows that."

"You know, Damon, you'd think by now that you'd realize that I don't care," the younger brother replied, his green eyes big and his blond hair flaring above his crown.

"Right," Damon replied, "because you're bad now. You turned it off, your feelings. Please, spare us **all** the drama and just feel again. Everyone liked that Stefan more than this Stefan," Damon replied. He gestured to his brother, who kept his stare but smiled.

"Why don't _you_ spare everyone the drama and tell Elena everything she forgot," he replied.

Damon stared at his brother with wide eyes, ot up, and rushed away. Damn was he stupid.

* * *

><p>~ AN: So what did you think? Please REVIEW! Your reviews help me write faster, believe it or not, and i felt sad when i only got one review last chapter. Okay, so the question for this chapter is... HOW DID STEFAN FIND OUT?


	11. Secrets

**A/N: Okay, I have a really really really good explanation for why I was late in updating. Like always, school is being a complete and total bitch, but I've had two new ideas for Delena stories and I had to write them down. Plus, my thinking process on how I should handle this thing with Stefan figuring it out has been slower than a turtle in sleep mode. But, since I probably made you guys wonder for a while, I'm just going to give it to you straight. This is sort of a filler chapter, but it is needed in the actual story. **

**~Here's Delena!~**

"Well Stefan," Elena said, putting dismay in her voice as she said his name, "That makes two of us." Stefan stared at her, lucky enough to catch her gaze. Big doe eyes studied him curiously while his green eyes were sending him questions he was frustrated about. He wanted to know why she was acting so differently. To put it into words, she was practically seventy-five percent Elena, ten present Katherine, and fifteen percent who knows what. But that description, though somewhat accurate, hardly seemed to scratch the surface of what he was processing by looking at her. Elena—this Elena in front of him—was really hard to describe. Her voice startled him out of thought when she said, "It's impolite to stare, Stefan."

He didn't process her words before he asked, in a considerably alarming tone, "What's wrong with you?" and, as imaginable, Elena was taken aback by the comment and scowled.

"And it's also rude to ask someone questions like that." Elena turned away from him, and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "So I have only one conclusion and that is that you honestly don't care, and that is duly noted for future reference, might I add."

"Wait, what? No, look, Elena; I can tell that something is up. You know me. I can tell these things. Whatever it is, it's killing you inside. So tell me. What is it?"

"Like I keep telling you," she moaned furiously at him. "It's none of your business. Aren't I allowed to keep secrets?" she replied in a melodramatic voice.

But Stefan strictly replied with a "no" that made her frown from displeasure at him. It was a face that he saw a lot nowadays, and although he could control himself from showing it, he couldn't control the fact that he hated her being disappointed at him. It was true that he was "bad" now, but everyone knew that in a couple of moments in time, he'll be back to eating squirrels and birds and bunnies.

"Well, that sucks," she smiled, ending his thoughts to make him listen.

"It really does. But that's what you get when you get two vampire brothers to fall in love with you. You get a hell of an adventure, a lot of dead people, just a tiny bit of heartbreak, and absolutely no freedom whatsoever. It's hell, but it makes for a good story to tell the…wait, never mind. That's insensitive."

Elena sighed. "Stefan, I'm tired It's been a long day and I really don't need your crap on top of my crap right now."

"Come on, Elena! What's the big deal with this! You've told me everything else the past year and a half and suddenly you can't tell me anything besides 'it's none of your business.' What's up with that?"

"You really want to know?" Elena challenged. "Fine."

* * *

><p>Elena was furious with him. Something was wrong; she couldn't have had her mood flip switched so easily. What he had said didn't even affect her the tiniest bit, yet there she was on the rim of explosion. She had this whole new feeling of unwanted but need emotion that was constantly bursting through her veins when she was near him. Her old self was used to his presence and could not tell whether to like or hate the same feeling her present self-had. Elena could tell this. These feelings she got were just as good as the images. The feelings were as clear as voices to her and helped her put pieces together, which was how she got that summery of her life put together. But this feeling, the feeling that was coursing through her veins at that moment, was completely unbearable. Something just exploded within her, and before she knew it, she was telling him everything.<p>

"You really want to know? Fine." Elena took a deep breath, which took so long that Stefan had to gesture for her to continue. "I don't know you. I don't know Damon. I don't know Bonnie or Caroline. And I don't know who Elena is, the Elena you know."

"What?" he practically screamed. "You have got to be kidding, right?"

"Not at all. I don't remember a single thing before a truck hit me when crossing the road to my house. All I know is what your brother has told me, and that's practically nothing."

"A truck hit you? When?"

"A couple of days ago, I think. My recollection of time hasn't been a priority. Though, getting my memory back has, so says Damon. Anyway, now you know. This is what Damon and I have been keeping from you. Are you happy now?"

"Absolutely not. How have you been so much like yourself if you don't remember who you are? And if you know nothing, how could you react like you knew everything?"

"It's a little thing I like to call gut feeling. I'm just reacting the way my gut is telling me to. It's done good so far."

"I know this is crazy with me being a vampire and all, but my head hurts," Stefan said, right before leaving Damon's room.

Elena heard a slam of the front door and jumped in surprise, like always. She was feeling a little hazy herself, like the past a hundred-twenty second have been a complete blur. As her, memory cleared up, her eyes widened in realization. Damon was literally going to kill her.

**A/N: I'm so so so so so so sorry because I know this chapter is complete and total crap. Anyway, does anybody think that this should be rated T? I ask because I'm looking back and I have a lot of bad language. And I'm also sorry that this chapter was soooooo short! Now I feel bad.**

**Love you all!**

**KSMCHICK1999**


	12. Into Your Eyes

**A/N: This is my first update in literally FOREVER, and to the fans that have been waiting, I am sooo sorry for making this my last priority. Life here has been really, really, really crazy. More than you can possibly imagine. On top of that, I've recently finished my first novel and started on my second, and that has been incredibly time consuming. Then, I've started a Werewolf Fiction on Wattpad (PM me for the link). I left you hanging with Stefan finding out that Elena's memory is wiped out and now Damon is allegedly "going to kill [her]." Boy, could Elena be more wrong? **

_ASATB-Chapter 12_

"Elena!" Damon's voice rang throughout the whole boarding house, making Elena freeze in the middle of his bedroom. Just five or so minutes ago, Stefan had left. She thought there would be more time for her to prepare for the other brother's arrival, but she should have known better. They were vampires, of course. They _had _to be _vampires. _

Then, not two seconds later, Damon was in the room, capturing her in a death grip hug. "You're okay," he whispered loud enough for her to hear. He let go and gripped her shoulders instead, forcing her to stare into his ice blue orbs. "What happened?" his voice was a bit fierce, which she wasn't really used to, and she flinched.

"I'm sorry," Elena replied. "It's just your brother is so god damn annoying! He really knows how to get into my skin and I hate it! I let it slip out." She looked down at her bare feet against the wooden floor. "You probably hate me. I don't want you to hate me."

Hearing this, Damon's face softened and he looked at her more curiously. He knew that this Elena was different than the old Elena. She was pure and innocent now, while still having a pretty bad ass attitude. He could now see that this was the real Elena. This was the Elena that didn't know the pain that came with losing her parents, her aunt, her birth parents, and everyone else that sacrifice their lives for her. This Elena didn't know to put on a strong face, or to build up walls around her, because she didn't know just how important she was. She didn't know that her importance would be the death of everyone around her. It lifted off all the stress that was on her shoulders and brought out a better, completely carefree girl.

"I don't hate you, Elena. I couldn't hate you," he replied. "It's just…you don't realize how bad this situation really is and how much danger you'd be in if people were to find out. I think I've said this before, but there are people much worse than my brother. There was a time when I was one of those people."

Then Elena started laughing. She started _laughing. _It was music to Damon's ears to hear such an alive laugh come from her. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"It's just this situation. And the idea that you were once Stefan," she replied. "I don't think you could ever be is bad as Stefan. I look into his eyes and I see…nothing. It's like he's alive but really just dead. I look into your eyes," she shot him a longing glance that made him really confused. She brought up her arms and rested them on his shoulders, ultimately bringing him closer.

Elena was doing what she normally did. She was letting that inner voice of hers tell her what to do. She thought it was something she normally would do, anyway. Besides, this was something she had been particularly aching to do. So she folded her fingers together around his neck and continued, "and I want to…" She slowly brought in his neck before softly brushing his lips with hers. When he didn't protest, she added more pressure to the kiss, ultimately resulting in him kissing her back with more force and more passion.

First, Damon was confused. Then he was happy. He would never admit it, but he was getting little sparks where their skin met, and it was a feeling he really enjoyed. Secretly, he had wanted to kiss her again, ever since that night in her room a few days ago. He knew he couldn't, however. She was in a too fragile state to be taken advantage of. Never in his dreams did he expect Elena to take control in this situation, and when she did, he couldn't respond. He didn't want to push away because a) he'd been dying to kiss her and b) she'd be hurt that he didn't want to kiss her, and he didn't want to give in because this could've counted as taking advantage of her. Then again, Damon knew that Elena was relying on strictly gut instinct, and if instinct told her to kiss him, then who was he to go against it? _Fuck it, _he thought. He gave in, presenting her with ten times more passion than he had been receiving, only to get a bit more passion from her in return.

It was like a war between the two. They were battling it out to see who could be more into the kiss. Soon enough, Elena was pushed against a wall and Damon had both her arms captured on either side of her head.

But something in the back of Damon's head was screaming at him. No matter how much he wanted to—and boy, did he want to—and no matter how much she was silently begging him through each kiss, he couldn't bring himself to let it go any further. Any other day, he would, but he just couldn't today. He pulled away, breathing heavily, and looked down at the floor through the tiny space between them. "I can't," he admitted in a soft voice.

"What?" she questioned. "What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?" Her breathing became a little unsteady and she continued in a slightly wobbly voice, "Do you not want me…like this?" She brushed the pads of her fingers gently down his hard chest.

Damon shook his head. "It's not that I don't want to. Believe me, _I want to._ It's just…I can't. We can't. When this is all over, when you get your memory back, I don't want you to regret what we've done here. I don't want you to convince yourself like all the other times you did that you don't want me. I don't want you to feel like you're forced to be with me just because we had sex," he admitted. It was probably stupid to be telling her all this. She didn't even know what he was talking about, probably. "I want it to be real."

Elena's eyes begged him, adding on as she pled, "It _is _real, Damon. How can it not be? I'm going on instinct and if I want this, than I've _always _wanted this, whether it's as the old Elena or as me or as some afterlife spirit or whatever else I was. Damon…"

"I can't bear with the pain of losing you if I've had you before. When everything goes back to normal, I just know that'll I'll have to."

"No, Damon. I promise you. You won't lose me. You won't have to feel that pain." Her voice was confident. She tried as hard as she could to make it as convincing as possible, even though she herself wasn't that convinced. What did she know of her old self? What did she know what she was capable of? But she pushed those thoughts aside and gave Damon a lingering stare. "Just…be with me."

Before she could blink, his lips crashed to hers.

**A/N: I'm such a tease, aren't I? So, how'd I do? Again, I'm soooooo sorry for the massive wait and the pretty short update. I am officially making this story rated M for the awesome scene you'll love me for next chapter. And make sure to check out my profile on Wattpad [my username is the same- ksmchick1999] And Don't be afraid to REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW.**

**Love you all, and hopefully you love this chapter,**

**KSM**

**P.S. What did you think? Do you want me to bring in Klaus/any other Original? I'm thinking about Elijah. I love me some Elijah. Haha! Tell me in ypur review! *hint, hint* And thanks to all those that took the time to read this. You're AWESOME! Only you. **


	13. Burning Passion

Chapter 13

A/N: I know. You hate me. And I keep writing the same note and have been for a couple chapters now. I just haven't had experience writing the kind of scene coming up and had to have literally a million tries and edits before I could get things right. I've also had my mind hard at work trying to write my new project, "The Demon Prophet." And when I was blocked with that, I started writing poetry and for the last couple of weeks, I haven't been able to write anything besides that! Next excuse, I'm having a really hard time dealing with a friend right now. She's been doing some really crazy and really hurtful things to my best friend and me, and I don't know how to fix things. Besides that, I've recently started liking this dude and for some unknown and despicable reason, crushing on a guy as hot as him can't produce the needed inspiration for this kind of chapter. But you guys don't want excuses. You want this story, and I'm SOOOOOOO extremely sorry that I haven't been able to provide that. Hopefully, this chapter will regain me the points I have lost.

~HERE'S THE (LONG-AWAITED) STORY!~

WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS CONTENT FOR MATURE AUDIENCES. PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH SAID CONTENT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Elena felt Damon's kisses trail down from her lips to her cheek to her neck and back. Each teasing lick and each sensational touch he made sent tingles all throughout her body, from her core to her fingertips and toes. She was pinned by her wrists against the wall just next to his hands, awkwardly spazzing after every action Damon did to her. Through each and every gasp and loud smile, she could hear chuckle and feel the vibration against her skin. Her breath was heavy. Another kiss. Another lick. Another touch.

He walked backwards, releasing her from the wall but pulling her to him gently with the collar of her shirt. He slowly started to lift the bottom of her shirt. The softness of her bare skin in his reach was consuming his animalistic needs, making him go crazier and hungrier for more of her. He couldn't believe this was actually happening. Somehow he missed her shirt come off, but it was. She wore a black lace bra, and Damon took a moment to soak her beauty in. She looked down, probably feeling a bit insecure. And she forgot all those insecurities when Damon kissed her with much more passion and love than he'd ever kissed anyone, more than he'd ever want to kiss anyone but Elena. She kissed him back with just as much force and passion and emotion.

They moved it to the bed. Sitting up, his hands grasped her hips and gently slid them up and down her sides as their kisses became more and more heated. She tugged at his shirt that was still on and in seconds it was on the floor. Damon pinned her by her shoulders to the mattress, and the more times he trapped her in this much fiery love and lust, the more Elena realized she loved it and the more she tried to return it. They were two fighting forces of equal strength in their little battle on the bed. He attacked every inch of her with lips-to-skin contact and made her squirm. She grazed her fingers over all the right places and teased him endlessly.

Neither of them would've guessed that she'd be the first to break. She pulled him closer to her, did something to make his pants automatically fall off, and laughed when he did that eye-brow wiggle thing and seductive stare. Both of them were being driven to the edge of their sanity, and with worlds as crazy as theirs that was saying a lot. Next, though neither of them understood how, they were both completely naked. Damon slid down and did this thing with his tongue that made Elena buckle her quivering knees and jerk her hips in a complex mindset of excitement and pleasure. When he looked up, she was making the cutest and weirdest sex face ever. He chuckled against her, the vibration making her blush.

Suddenly he stopped, making her whine. "Damon…" she complained.

"Wait," he said. "Patience is a virtue and I need a little time to take all this in. I've been waiting for this for quite a while, you know. Let me just relish in this little dream come true." He smiled at her, breathing everything in. She nodded like she understood what he meant. She sat up on her elbows while he took a moment to just stare at her naked form. Right. Yeah. Elena Gilbert, the girl of his dreams, was naked and in his bed. And Damon Salvatore was just staring? That thought crept through the tiny crevices of his hard-headed skull and he shook his head in denial of it. "Yeah, waiting over. Kiss. Me. Now."

Just as she was told, Elena kissed him with a lot of force that he returned instantly. She rolled them over so that she was on top, and pleasuring his body as he did to hers. She trailed kisses from his sharp jawline to his collarbone to his hard and muscular abdomen. His boxers were still on, and she took advantage by pulling the waistband down an inch, and making him think they were coming off completely. No, she only traced where the underwear used to snuggly hang on his hips with a bunch of kisses, not daring to venture further down. "Elena," he grunted in exhaustion from her torment.

"Fine, fine. I'm not a meanie like you," she giggled, referring to the stunt he pulled moments ago. She pulled his boxers right off, but kissed him from the waist back up to his lips. A sexually frustrated Damon turned them over as a quicker path to his release. He took a finger and pushed it inside of her, making her body quiver.

"You're so wet," he murmured softly. He added a second finger and started to thrust hard and fast. She moaned, and her moans grew louder and her gasps grew more plentiful as he forced his fingers harder and faster into her. When she was ready, he didn't give it to her. Instead, he put his hard manhood inside of her. Her muscles start to spasm around him, tightening and loosening against him, and signaling to him that she was about to cross the line into a state of oblivion. He was just about there too.

"Damon…" she moaned just as she reached the point of no return. She want to say more, but was unable to form the needed words.

"I know. Just let go."

They both, in complete synchronization, found release. They were panting, out of breath, and smiling. Elena thought aloud, "Why are you out of breath? You don't need air…"

Damon laughed and responded by kissing her softly on the lips. "True. But, I do need one thing." She looked at him with a pointed but curious look. "You," he finished. He kissed her again on the lips. "And, if it were up to me, we'd do this over and over and over again. We'd be in this bed forever. But, you must be really tired." He crawled into the bed and into a more comfortable position. She rested her head on his stomach, which was really comfortable and firm, and rested her arm just beneath her head. Damon wrapped his arm over her shoulder. He breathed out really softly, "I love you, Elena," thinking that she couldn't hear him.

But really, Elena heard every word and replied back in her mind. _I think I might just love you too._

* * *

><p>AN: Yes, I know, you get to hear from me again! Sorry.

Does this regain me some points? You get the super smutty chapter, and the confession at the end…

I can't really think of a chapter question for this so just answer the one above^


	14. AN: SORRY, GUYS!

Hey guys! Sorry. This is boring little me ranting about something. So, today in my seventh period, in my study hall period, I looked at my e-mail and read that I had a new review. Awesome, I hadn't had one in a while, and this was unexpected because I haven't updated. So I was reading it, and it was a negative review.

Now don't think I'm some whiny bitch because I got one negative review. I honestly don't care about that, because I'm a strong believer in people being entitled to their opinions. So, I say, "AWESOME!"

I'm just writing this out because I would really like to know how to improve if you think my writing is bad. Don't be afraid to tell me that you hate it, but tell me why when you do. I prefer brutal honesty over the "Sooo great :) Keep writing!" any day, though getting them is still awesome. Just help me pin point mistakes so that I don't disappoint you guys in the future.

Thanks.

Love y'all!

~KSM


	15. Heartfelt Confessions

A/N: What's this? She finally updated? It can't be. Anyway

, thank you guys for being so patient with the update. An aunt of mine passed away Monday, and I didn't know her very well, but I had to pay my respects in some way and I haven't been writing ANYTHING. Not my poems, not my other fan-fics, nor my diary. I haven't even been working on my book (which is my priority over the rest of my works). It might not make sense, and that's okay, it's just a way of coping with this loss. I hope you understand.

I was however, checking my e-mail, and I made the exception of writing the little Author's Note. I got my answers. Thanks for that.

Now the story (No promises of its quality, though):

Elena had drifted to sleep in Damon's arms. It warmed his heart, or whatever he had of one, to see her so innocent in her sleep. But after the couple of hours they had just endured, he knew that that innocence wasn't an all-time thing. He smirked at the memory, bringing Elena in a tighter hold against his bare body with the arm wrapped around her. She wiggled a bit, murmuring something he couldn't quite catch on his skin and sending vibrations throughout his body. She was still asleep though, for her breathing was still even. Damon often heard her talk in her sleep, those many nights he secretly broke into her bedroom and, on occasion, watch her until she woke up. Every time, he would think about letting her see him. Every time, he ran out the window.

Then he realized how he had these memories, and detailed pictures of decades while his little Elena couldn't even remember last week. Now, with her peacefully slumbering on his chest and hugging him like her life depended on it, he wanted to show her everything and be everything for her. He also wanted to be there as she discovers who she is again, every step of the way and all.

Damon felt Elena's breathing become irregular, and faster, and he heard her start to sob. She was having a nightmare. _Shit. Shit. _

"Elena," he said hoarsely, nudging her shoulders. She didn't budge, though she did start to tighten her hold on him.

"Elena," he tried again, only louder and more forceful. He patted her back gently, trying to wake her up.

"What?" she said loudly. He eyes looked around the room, then caught Damon's icy irises. A smile tugged her lips. "It was just a dream," she whispered softly.

"It was," Damon replied. "And a pretty bad one. Do you need to talk about it, 'Lena?"

"Uh…it was kind of weird. And it seems so jaded, like a memory, though it felt too vivid when I dreamed it," she explained. Then she sighed. "I was in a field. Fire. Fire is everywhere. I can feel it in my lungs. I feel like I'm going to die. There's a woman there, too. She's surrounded by fire as well, though there's fire between us. She has this predatory look in her eyes, like the one you and Stefan sometimes have. I think she was a vampire, but I wasn't scared. I knew her, though I don't know who she is right now.

"There was a girl there, and she didn't look that much older than me. I think she was like Bonnie. She kept chanting like Bonnie did. She scared me. I tried not to show it, though. But, what scared me more was this body. Dead, heated by the flames. I was frightened that that would be me." Damon caught the tear that slid down her eye with his thumb. He shushed her and brought her in for a comforting hug. The gesture told her that she didn't have to continue.

Elena wanted to, though. The dream, although it seemed like a memory that was quickly slipping from her fingers, was too vivid and life-like to keep to herself, and she had no one besides Damon. Well, she had Bonnie and Caroline, but they were nowhere to be seen at the moment, and this was fresh in her mind.

"The other woman, the one I believe was a vampire, attacked the girl. But the girl knew her stuff, because she didn't get that far before she fell to the ground. I think she was dead, too. And there's this man. He had a murderous gleam in his eye. It's cold, frightening…"

As Elena explained, Damon realized what she was talking about. The man was definitely Klaus, the woman was Jenna. All the pieces fit perfectly together. Elena's memories were coming back to her. And this was she remembering the day Klaus's curse was broken.

He stopped her by holding a finger to her lips then explained this. "You mean this dream was actually a memory?" she asked, her voice lifting up. She got a nod in return. "Can you explain it to me?"

"Uh… I can…" Damon mentally debated whether or not he should continue. She deserved to know this, right? He had been selfish with her too much lately. "It's a really long story. I don't know where to begin. But I'll start with explaining your dream."

Damon told her about everything, then. He started by explaining that the woman was Jenna and the man was Klaus, telling her in explicit detail who those two were. She nodded, taking everything in silently. Next, Damon explained the Hybrid curse on Klaus, which branched into a biography of Elijah, then Katherine. He told Elena of her manipulating ways, and explained that she was her doppelganger. She tended to inhale sharply every time Damon had said something relatively close to "love" with Katherine, whether he was talking about himself or Stefan. It seemed that he couldn't say one thing without having to clarify something, and that meant another subtopic popping up. He had a pretty rough time trying to keep track of everything he had said. And during it all, he had to make sure Elena wasn't confused or excited or about to faint.

He ended in present day, summarizing Elena's living arrangements and her knowledge of the supernatural world. "Caroline, my brother, and I are vampires. Katherine is a bitch. Bonnie is a witch. Elijah is an Original. And Klaus is a hybrid. The only human ones are you, though you're a doppelganger, your brother, Jeremy, and Matt."

"I see," Elena muttered.

"Yeah. And I have to tell you something else."

"There's more?!" She sounded exasperated.

"Babe, I have not even touched the surface of the whole story." Damon chuckled a bit at all the little things no one knew he was keeping, though it affected them all. This new Elena included. "But it's about Stefan." During his explanation he seemed to glide over the things that had to do with his brother.

"Are you going to explain what you meant by 'there was a time when I used to be him' thing?" Elena asked, innocently curious.

"Sort of. I just need to get this out in the open. You deserve to know about your own life. I don't want to feel like I'm keeping things from you. But if Blondie or Sabrina asks, I told you nothing, kay?" She nodded. "So… during most of this…there was… I honestly don't know how to put this."

"Just say it, Damon."

"Well, there was a time when Stefan was…good. Like I told you, we were best brothers until Katherine arrived and our sibling rivalry sky-rocketed." He hadn't even said much, but Elena still sharply inhaled her breath. "He's what the vampire-world call a Ripper. He's an alcoholic when it comes to blood. His first moments as a vampire were spent killing our father."

Damon looked down sadly before continuing, returning her stare again with a forceful look he seemed to have on a lot of the time. "Then he met a vampire named Lexi, his best friend. She taught him to control his thirst for blood. He spent decades feeding on animal blood. Then he went back to human blood with a bang. The he fed on animal blood. It was a cycle with him. It was worse since his good-nature was heightened as a vampire, and he felt remorse with every kill. He had a list of the names of every kill. His Ripper sign was, after he tore his victim's body to shreds, he would put it back together."

Elena tried to picture it, but she knew that the image in her head was probably too PG for the real deal. The thought sickened her. She shuddered then stared up at him. "I thought you were telling me how Stefan used to be _good. _In what world is that good? And… you said… you said that there was a time when you were as bad as him. That can't be. That's just too… too awful, Damon." Elena stood up, reaching for her clothes and finding them, somehow, in the most awkward places.

"I'm getting to that part. Stay. Listen," Damon pleaded. She sighed, continued to put on her clothes, tossing his to him. She waited for him to continue. Relieved, Damon started again, "That was the bad parts of his life. There were the good parts, too. He got off the rails, and cleaned up his act for short amounts of time. He was good, drinking animal blood instead of human, and refusing to kill a single soul. He was the new student at your high school when you met him. He was off the rails. He wasn't the person you know now."

Elena soaked it in. She crossed her arms on her chest and asked skeptically, "Where do you come into this, Damon? Are you a different person now?"

"Yes, and no. I was…the big older brother, mean and always pushing him around. For a while, I spent time trying to let Katherine out of this tomb—long story for another day—and I was Stefan's worst nightmare. I have control over my thirst for blood, and I was pushing it on him. In a way, I was helping him. I knew that his little fantasy with you wouldn't survive long with you being a human, he being a vampire and he not having any control. But, I was also doing so in a way I knew wouldn't help. For a long time, maybe even now, I was the killer of the brothers. I had no remorse. I was the bad one, while my baby bro was the golden child, as always.

"But I changed, in a way, because I fell for you." Elena looked up and caught his sincere gaze. His blue eyes bore into hers, and although it could've intended to be threatening, it just showed her how vulnerable Damon was but pretended not to be. "I learned that I would do anything when it came to you, and sacrifice my happiness and everyone else's happiness if it meant keeping you safe. It was really, really selfish. It allowed my title of Mass murderer of the year to be extended to forever in their eyes, even though we have Klaus and Stefan in the same town! I'm getting off topic…

"My point is: You have a history with Stefan. You were in love with him first, and until now I wasn't sure where we stood. You fell for him because he was the good guy, and you resented me because of all the lives and material thing I had given up for you."

Damon knew he was messing everything up. He couldn't summarize the circumstance correctly. Every single moment, though very detailed and vivid in his mind, came out in a blur when he attempted to put it into words. He sighed. "I don't know what else to say. I'm pretty sure everything I had said is very appalling for post-sex talk." He looked down at his legs covered by his bed sheets.

"No. Damon, I understand," she said. "But I have to go. Can you take me home?"

* * *

><p>Damon had driven her and dropped her home without a single word, which was a relief because he talked too much anyway. Elena felt really, really bad for it. She just needed a little time to take in everything he had said. He was at least understanding enough to just let her be. She went into the room she had remembered to be hers. It felt like a stranger to her. The room felt too cold, too hot, too unfamiliar, and yet there was a little inkling in her head that marked this room as a safe haven.<p>

There was a knock on her door. It opened and she was wildly surprised to find Stefan. She rolled her eyes and looked away, letting him come in without any greeting at all. He didn't need one, for he comfortably strode right in

He grabbed her shoulder and forced him to look at him. She felt the need to say something. "Damon told me. He explained a lot."

"Oh?" Stefan looked genuinely surprised. "I didn't think he had the nerve to do it. I don't mean that badly, but I guess he'd do what he needed to do."

Elena stared at him. "You are unbelievable."

"What?" Stefan smiled in a bit of morbid amusement. "What did I do now?"

"Why is everyone in this town so goddam bipolar! You are all mean one second than nice the other and it's really confusing! Can't you anyone just be one thing and stick to it? It makes this 'going by instincts' thing so much easier. Now, with all of everyone's stupid confessions, I have to put common sense into the equation, because rationally speaking, by instincts are basically suicidal!" Elena exploded.

Stefan kept the same grin on his face. "Calm down, okay? Want to talk about it?"

"Oh no you don't. Wipe that look off your face, Stefan. Stop smiling. This is not funny. I'm serious. Stop. And stop looking at me like that. I'm not some piece of meat. Okay, wrong terminology. Remember, Elena, you are in a world with a bunch of vampires that _do _sometimes see you as a piece of meat. It's kind of violating. Now you're rambling. Shut up!" Stefan was about to comment, something annoying and smart ass-like, Elena was sure. So before he could even pronounce a letter, she said, "You too. Shut up."

"You know, Elena, I'm not the only one with mood swing here," Stefan said half-joking/half-seriously. He completely ignored her demand. Then his eyes, still gazing down at her, though not exactly like a piece of meat, softened from their normally harsh green to a light pale green. He looked at her, really, like she was a prize that he had wanted so badly but then lost. "You and Damon seemed a bit busy earlier today."

Elena flushed a deep red. _Where was he going with this?_

"I don't know what to say about it," he continued. "I just know that I can't seem to ignore it."

"Stefan…"

"What, Elena?"

"This isn't a good time for any more heartfelt confessions," she said a little too coldly. The minute it escaped her lips, she regretted it. She closed her eyes and tightened her fists, for she could just feel the tension build up in the bedroom. All too soon, Stefan proved to be the ticking time bomb that she had waited to explode.

"Heartfelt confessions? Wow, Elena. That was… harsh. Way to hurt a guy's feelings." The way he said it could not have been taken as a joke.

"I'm sorry."

"You're… _sorry?_"

"Stefan… you're not thinking clearly. Just sit down and let's talk about this."

"Talk about this? What is there to talk about?" Stefan punched the wall above the bed, creating a massive hole. "How many more ways can you rip my heart out?"

"What? Stefan. What are you talking about? You can't blame me for these things."

"Oh. I'm not. I'm going to go." He replied too swiftly, and much too calmly. He left the room without a second word.

Elena was left in the room, thinking, _What the hell just happened? _

She wondered just how she was going to make it through the rest of the night.

* * *

><p>AN: Okay, how was that? All your "Update soon"s brought this out of me. I think its good, though it could be a little confusing. Be mindful with the Stefan scene. I have a few ideas where I could take things from there. Plus, I wanted to include the line from the 4x10 promo. Did you find it? Depending on my schedule tomorrow and how much homework I get over next week, I should have the next chapter by the return of the show Jan 17th. Good with you guys?

Please, please, please review? Even if it's just a "hi" or "update please". When I see an e-mail from , my heart sparks and I write more.

Love you guys.

~KSM.


	16. Baby Bro Part 2

**A/N: I know that I am late on my promise of getting this story by the winter premiere (WHICH WAS AMAZING!). My book (which you can read here: s/3091363/1/The-Demon-Prophet) and this chapter went through a bit of a rough time in the past week. So there I was, so ecstatic about seeing my stats and starting up about 25% of this chapter, when Microsoft Word starts spazzing out on me. Even though I had saved it multiple times, everything was deleted. What was worse: my book was open, and five pages worth of genius had gone missing. And, as I have stated, this book is a priority of this story, so I had to work on it. I also had standardized testing this week, which put a stump in my writing, since "you can't bring anything besides a book" to the classroom. **

**I feel like there's always an excuse before my chapters, and I'm sorry.**

**Well, you most likely didn't click on here to just read me ramble on and on about my book. So here's the moment you've been waiting for:**

After Damon had dropped Elena home, he had gone straight into his room. He had spread himself sloppily around all corners of his bed, which had been a very entertaining platform only hours ago, and stared up at the ceiling. It was now about a quarter 'til midnight; he hadn't moved a single inch.

He felt numb, and he didn't exactly know where his emotions should be. He understood that Elena needed space; he would be scared, really, if she didn't after all that he told her. He could tell she had been off-edge because of everything. She must've been aggravated about everything. And he had to keep an open mind, had to remember that Elena, whether new or old, wasn't as tough as she let everyone believe she was. Yet, though it was a task he knew he had to-complete with perfection and a little extra—he couldn't.

He wished she could have her memory back. More than anything. Yes, being this close to her was enticing and amazing, but that had nothing to do with things. He couldn't be selfish with her. That was his rule, a line he couldn't cross. Yet he was flirting with it like he would a beach-blonde blood bag. He wanted her to have her memory back for her safety. She had to know what to expect, or at least remember the experience she had with certain things—and people. Instinct can only get a person so far, before everything one does becomes entirely counterproductive.

He sighed and finally got up from bed, shuffling in slow motion to his bourbon downstairs. His hard drinks were probably the only things that could clear his head, in the most ironic way. He took a sip. The drink no longer affected him as it would someone else; he had practically inhaled the stuff for most of his life. He hadn't in the past few days. He had been too busy worrying about Elena. No, not about Elena, about everything that seems to center around her. The girl and her damned luck.

He heard the front door open then immediately slammed shut. It was loud. Damon rolled his eyes. In came his brother, with the smell of alcohol and blood trailing behind him. He must've, through the corner of his drunk and blood shot eyes, have seen the older Salvatore smirking in the door way, since the first thing he said as he passed was, "Fuck you, Damon."

Stefan was obviously in a sucky mood, and in ripper mode, no doubt. Something must've aggravated him; he'd been calmer and cleaner lately. This was a bit unusual, even for Stefan's rollercoaster cravings. "What up, baby bro?" Damon replied, pacing slowly behind him on the stairs.

For a reason unknown to him, what he had said annoyed Stefan even more. It was the big brother-little brother thing, where everything one does annoys the hell out of the other, but with the intensity heightened to level: Vampire. Stefan, turned back, grabbed his arm, and rolled him over his shoulder, pinning him swiftly on the stairs. There was a crack; _something _had broken, though Damon was already too numb to feel the little wave of pain that should've passed. "What. The. Hell. Stefan," he said between gasps, trying to get up from the uncomfortable position on the stairs and under his brother.

"You know, just fuck off. Just leave me the hell alone."

"You are in a pissy mood, and it is my duty as the older brother to find out why."

"It's you. You're the problem. You and Elena. Now _fuck off_." Stefan got up and sped to his bedroom, leaving Damon confused and still in an uncomfortable position on the stairs, though it was much less awkward than before.

"Stefan, Stefan, Stefan… Your humanity is showing…" Damon singed softly under his breath. He went back into the study to pour himself another glass of Bourbon.

**A/N: I know it's unconstitutionally short, but I wanted to update quicker, and with the problems I was facing above, I just couldn't fit anything more. I'm busy tomorrow and Sunday, and Monday is my birthday so I most likely won't update this weekend. Sorry.**

**I still love you guys, though. Hope you can still say the same for me.**

**~KSM**


	17. PLEASE READ!

_**I AM SO SORRY, GUYS!**_

My computer's hard drive crashed. Like _kaput._ On Tuesday Morning. Over the course of the week, my dad (who is a computer whiz) helped replace the hard drive so that it was up and working. I got it back last night so I could watch Netflix with my best friend who was sleeping over. But, everything was in that hard drive, and Windows 8 did not have a good back up. I had to save the important things (like research papers and my books) onto Skydrive, and the space was very, very limited. The next chapter was 3/4ths of the written (I wanted to update that Tuesday) and now its all gone. *Sad Face*

I don't know when I can update next. I'm so sorry, guys!


	18. SO SORRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

No. She did not update. *Sigh*

I am soooooooooooo extremely sorry that I haven't updated in a while. The day after my birthday (January 21) my computer crashed and it took until mid-february for my dad to fix it. Not only was he in China for most of that time, but when he fixed my computer, all my files were missing. He had to do some crazy things to get everything back. Still, that was a couple weeks ago. I've been abusing my writing by NOT writing and continuing this Fanfiction. I just can't seem to find time or inspiration. I know what I want to write, I just can't write it.

However, I do ask all of you to please read my latest working story, The Demon Prophet. It is on and , under the username ksmchick1999.

s/3091363/3/


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